*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of tung

From Middle English tonge, from Old English tung, tunge (“tongue, language”), from Proto-West Germanic *tungā, from Proto-Germanic *tungǭ (“tongue”); along with Dutch tong, German Zunge, Swedish tunga, from Proto-Indo-Eu

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Obsolete spelling of tongue, both as language and as part of the body.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English tonge, from Old English tung, tunge (“tongue, language”), from Proto-West Germanic *tungā, from Proto-Germanic *tungǭ (“tongue”); along with Dutch tong, German Zunge, Swedish tunga, from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "tonge",
        "id": "tongue"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English tonge"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "tung"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English tung"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*tungā"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *tungā"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*tungǭ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "tongue"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *tungǭ (“tongue”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "tong"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch tong"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Zunge"
      },
      "expansion": "German Zunge"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "tunga"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish tunga"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tonge",
      "tonge#Middle_English:_tongue"
    ],
    [
      "tung",
      "tung#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "tunge",
      "tunge#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*tungā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/tungā"
    ],
    [
      "*tungǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tungǭ"
    ],
    [
      "tong",
      "tong#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Zunge",
      "Zunge#German"
    ],
    [
      "tunga",
      "tunga#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "*dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Obsolete spelling of tongue, both as language and as part of the body."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "dd61c8cf9cbdd2772cf3fc9e4e492537004ce3d84746e1429c04999088e27506",
      "rawRecordSha256": "167f4a3fa982bf4f040081cc033ec09a95947106f1629b526318c3137ed9f6e1",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 270891
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A tung tree.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Chinese 桐 (tóng).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "zh",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Chinese"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "桐"
      },
      "expansion": "桐 (tóng)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "桐",
      "桐#Chinese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A tung tree."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "adfcba9a861e254be8351b84d39bf7e1d9ff38b936bfaeee280008c066b2609d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8fe8e6f95c92abac14d8237ebeb306d3326b186a0d98d8e54540ea7b5829e1be",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 270892
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for tung →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dHVuZw