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Glite Dictionary
tongue tie

tongue tie

8.2
A small piece of skin under the tongue is too short from birth and stops the tongue moving well
  • noun
  • /ˈtʌŋ taɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : frenillo lingual
  • After her surgery to correct the tongue tie, she found it much easier to articulate her words.

We learned that she had a posterior tongue tie and we found this pediatric dentist.

Examples

  • We learned that she had a posterior tongue tie and we found this pediatric dentist.

    Rich Roll

  • I too had a breast reduction, and when my first, a daughter, arrived last year and wasn't diagnosed with a tongue tie until she was five weeks old, I struggled with breastfeeding.

    Blog text (9)

  • The doctor explained that a tongue tie can make it difficult for infants to latch properly during breastfeeding.

  • Many parents are unaware that a tongue tie can affect their child's ability to speak clearly as they grow.

Synonyms

ankyloglossia
vstongue tie
  • Specialized
9.9

A small piece of skin under the tongue that is too short and stops the tongue moving well

is the everyday informal name for the same condition

Surface Forms

tongue tie singular
tongue ties plural

Morphology

tongue + tie

The noun is directly compositional: 'tongue' (the mouth organ) + 'tie' (to bind) yields the sense of something that binds or restricts the tongue, which matches the medical definition. Although somewhat technical, the compound follows ordinary English composition patterns and a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the basic meaning (a binding that limits tongue movement).

Etymology

The term tongue tie comes from the literal image of a tongue held down by a short band of skin like a tie under it. So, the name describes a condition that 'limits' the tongue's movement and can make breastfeeding or talking difficult.