mother tongue

[ muhth-er tuhng for 1; muhth-er tuhng for 2 ]
/ ˈmʌð ər ˈtʌŋ for 1; ˈmʌð ər ˌtʌŋ for 2 /

noun

the language first learned by a person; native language.

Origin of mother tongue

1350–1400; Middle English moder tonge

Example sentences from the Web for mother tongue

British Dictionary definitions for mother tongue

mother tongue

noun

the language first learned by a child
a language from which another has evolved