Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Definition

noun, plural: mouths

(1) The oral cavity located at the upper end of the alimentary canal that opens to the outside at the lips and empties into the throat at the rear, and containing structures for mastication and tasting especially in higher vertebrates.

(2) A body opening through which food (and air) enters the body of an animal or human.

(3) The cavity containing structures for making sounds (e.g. cry or voice) and speech (e.g. language).

(4) An opening allowing passage.

(5) A natural opening, as in the mouth of a river.

(6) A grimace, pout, wry face or similar facial expression indicating displeasure, disgust or pain.

(7) A spokesperson or a person who speaks on behalf of another or others.

(8) A person or animal regarded as a consumer of food, as in another mouth to feed.

Supplement

Word origin: OE. Mouth, mu, AS. M; akin to D. Mond, OS. M, G. Mund, Icel. Mur, munnr, Sw. Mun, Dan. Mund, Goth. Muns, and possibly L. Mentum chin; or cf. D. Muil mouth, muzzle, G. Maul, OHG. Mla, Icel. Mli, and Skr. Mukha mouth.

Related terms: hoof-and-mouth disease, foot-and-mouth disease, mouth abnormalities, mouth breathing, mouth edentulous, mouth-footed, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, glands of mouth.

See also: orifice, buccal cavity.