mouth

Pronunciation: /maʊθ/

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
  2. noun the externally visible part of the oral cavity on the face and the system of organs surrounding the opening
  3. noun an opening that resembles a mouth (as of a cave or a gorge)

Etymology

From Middle English mouth, from Old English mūþ, from Proto-West Germanic *munþ, from Proto-Germanic *munþaz (“mouth”), from Proto-Indo-European *ment- (“to chew; jaw, mouth”). Cognate with Scots mooth (“mouth”), North Frisian mös, müs, Mür (“mouth”), West Frisian mûn (“mouth”), Dutch mond (“mouth”), muide (“river mouth”) and mui (“riptide”), German Mund (“mouth”), Luxembourgish Mond (“mouth”), Danish mund (“mouth”), Faroese muður, munnur (“mouth”), Icelandic munnur (“mouth”), Swedish mun (“mouth”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk munn (“mouth”), Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (munþs, “mouth”), Latin mentum (“chin”) and mandō (“to chew”), Ancient Greek μάσταξ (mástax, “jaws, mouth”) and μασάομαι (masáomai, “to chew”), Albanian mjekër (“chin, beard”), Welsh mant (“jawbone”), Hittite 𒈨𒂊𒉌𒄿 (me-e-ni-i /⁠mēni⁠/, “face, cheek”). The verb is from Middle English mouthen, from the noun.

In classic literature

Synonyms

oral cavity, oral fissure, rima oris

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
rima
Narrower (hyponyms)
trap

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