mouth
UK[maʊθ]US[maʊθ]
n
the opening in the face used for speaking, eating, and breathing.
n
the opening or entrance of something hollow, like a cave or a bottle.
v
to form words with the lips silently or without making sound.
v
to move the lips as if speaking, especially in an exaggerated or insincere way.
Etymology
the word 'mouth' descends directly from the old english 'mūþ', which is of germanic origin. it is related to the dutch 'mond' and the german 'mund', all tracing back to the proto-germanic 'munþaz'. this term is believed to have a deeper proto-indo-european root meaning related to projecting or protruding, a logical descriptor for the body part. the semantic journey from a physical bodily opening to metaphorical openings, like the mouth of a river, and then to the verbal sense of forming words, demonstrates a clear and intuitive path of meaning extension based on function and appearance.
Analysis
the word 'mouth' is a simplex word of old english origin. it cannot be meaningfully segmented into smaller morphemes within modern english spelling.
Examples
she raised her hand to her mouth in surprise.
the river widens at its mouth as it meets the sea.
the actor was clearly mouthing the words to the song during the playback.