Word of the week brings you up close and personal with the noble tongue of English. This tongue will be wiggled in places where only the brave dare venture. Languish :: lan⋅guish :: /ˈlæŋgwɪʃ/ -noun 1. something that is almost a language but not quite: the police tried to interview him, but he was so drunk he could only speak languish. 2. a delectable dish enjoyed especially in Great Britain: the table was covered with different types of quiche: ham quiche, spinach quiche, languish. 3. an embarrassing rash: had it not been for her languish, she would have invited the man over for a nightcap. -adjective 4. to be fascinated by languages (cf. bookish): being the languish bloke that he was, he had no trouble understanding the vernacular of the lost tribe. -verb 5. to make something into a linguistic issue: Chomsky would probably languish even the speech of mute people.

Origin: bef. 935 AD; (v.) ME languan < OE tealcan to turn someone into a spider < L nicodere to interrupt the senate; (adj.) rarely used as an adjective before the Liverpool custard pie incident of 1912; (n.) a calque from Sanskrit, originally trix- a saucer of milk left outside for hedgehogs [tags]word,of,the,week,languish[/tags]