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Glite Dictionary
speech organ

speech organ

4.1
A body part like the tongue or lips that makes speech sounds
  • noun
  • /spiːtʃ ˈɔrɡən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : órgano del habla
  • The child practiced moving her speech organs to form clear words.

Examples

  • Linguists study how different speech organs like the lips and tongue create various sounds.

  • He learned to control his speech organs to improve his pronunciation in a new language.

  • Their speech organs are adequate.

    Planet of the Apes (1968)

  • According to Martins (2000), every time we express ourselves, we have to coordinate not merely muscular movements in the speech organs or in the hand grasping the pen.

    Academic text (2009)

Synonyms

organ of speech
vsspeech organ
1 4.4

A body part like the tongue or lips used to make sounds for talking

has identical meaning but uses the more common word order
vocal organ
vsspeech organ
  • Specialized
3.8

A part of the mouth or throat that helps make speech sounds

is a general term for the parts that make speech sounds
articulator
vsspeech organ
  • Specialized
7.4

A part in the mouth like the tongue or lips that helps make speech sounds

covers all body parts involved in sound production, not only movable mouth parts

Surface Forms

speech organ singular
speech organs plural

Morphology

speech + organ

The meaning 'an organ involved in producing speech sounds' is transparently derived from combining 'speech' (the act of producing spoken language) with 'organ' (a bodily part with a function). This is a straightforward noun–noun composition found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase speech organ is the name for the body parts that make our words. For example, the tongue, lips, and vocal cords work together to shape sounds. Because these parts help you 'speak', speech organ now means any body part used to make speech sounds.