black tongue
1
7.3
- noun
- /blæk tʌŋ/
- Specialized
:
lengua negra
- A black tongue can occur as a side effect of certain medications, indicating an overgrowth of papillae.
Examples
-
Lil can see the black tongue inside.
Fiction book (1994) -
His purplish-black tongue.
Academic text (2007) -
After taking antibiotics, she noticed her tongue had turned a dark shade; the doctor explained it was a condition called black tongue.
-
The patient was concerned when he saw the abnormal color of his tongue, which the doctor identified as black tongue.
Synonyms
A harmless mouth problem where the tongue looks dark and furry because tiny bumps grow too long, often after antibiotics
A harmless mouth condition where tongue bumps grow long and look dark
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: a learner who knows 'black' and 'tongue' will readily interpret it as a tongue that appears black. The medical specifics (overgrowth of papillae, antibiotic side effects) are extra clinical details but do not alter the basic, literally derivable meaning, so it is transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Black tongue is a plain picture name: it simply describes a tongue that looks black. This dark look often comes when tiny bumps on the tongue grow or when some medicines change the color, so the name became a way to talk about a usually 'temporary' medical problem.