gift of tongues

noun phrase

: a divinely granted gift or talent identified by ecstatic, usually unintelligible speech see also tongue entry 1 sense 4c

Word History

Etymology

from the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:1–13

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gift of tongues was in 1560

Dictionary Entries Near gift of tongues

gift of gab

gift of tongues

gift registry

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Gift of tongues.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gift%20of%20tongues. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on gift of tongues

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gift of tongues

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Games & Quizzes

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...