mouth

n.; pl. Mouths [ OE. mouth, muþ, AS. mūð; akin to D. mond, OS. mūð, G. mund, Icel. muðr, munnr, Sw. mun, Dan. mund, Goth. munþs, and possibly L. mentum chin; or cf. D. muil mouth, muzzle, G. maul, OHG. mūla, Icel. mūli, and Skr. mukha mouth. ] 1. The opening through which an animal receives food; the aperture between the jaws or between the lips; also, the cavity, containing the tongue and teeth, between the lips and the pharynx; the buccal cavity. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: An opening affording entrance or exit; orifice; aperture; as: (a) The opening of a vessel by which it is filled or emptied, charged or discharged; as, the mouth of a jar or pitcher; the mouth of the lacteal vessels, etc. (b) The opening or entrance of any cavity, as a cave, pit, well, or den. (c) The opening of a piece of ordnance, through which it is discharged. (d) The opening through which the waters of a river or any stream are discharged. (e) The entrance into a harbor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Saddlery) The crosspiece of a bridle bit, which enters the mouth of an animal. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A principal speaker; one who utters the common opinion; a mouthpiece. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every coffeehouse has some particular statesman belonging to it, who is the mouth of the street where he lives. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Cry; voice. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Speech; language; testimony. [ 1913 Webster ]

That in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. Matt. xviii. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A wry face; a grimace; a mow. [ 1913 Webster ]

Counterfeit sad looks,
Make mouths upon me when I turn my back. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Down at the mouth or
Down in the mouth, chapfallen; of dejected countenance; depressed; discouraged. [ Obs. or Colloq. ] --
Mouth friend, one who professes friendship insincerely. Shak. --
Mouth glass, a small mirror for inspecting the mouth or teeth. --
Mouth honor, honor given in words, but not felt. Shak. --
Mouth organ. (Mus.) (a) Pan's pipes. See Pandean. (b) An harmonicon. --
Mouth pipe, an organ pipe with a lip or plate to cut the escaping air and make a sound. --
To stop the mouth, to silence or be silent; to put to shame; to confound. --
To put one's foot in one's mouth, to say something which causes one embarrassment. --
To run off at the mouth, to speak excessively. --
To talk out of both sides of one's mouth, to say things which are contradictory. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

The mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. Ps. lxiii. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whose mouths must be stopped. Titus i. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mouthed p. pr. & vb. n. Mouthing. ] 1. To take into the mouth; to seize or grind with the mouth or teeth; to chew; to devour. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To utter with a voice affectedly big or swelling; to speak in a strained or unnaturally sonorous manner; as, mouthing platitudes. “Mouthing big phrases.” Hare. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mouthing out his hollow oes and aes. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To form or cleanse with the mouth; to lick, as a bear her cub. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To make mouths at. [ R. ] R. Blair. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Furnished with a mouth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having a mouth of a particular kind; using the mouth, speech, or voice in a particular way; -- used only in composition; as, wide-mouthed; hard-mouthed; foul-mouthed; mealy-mouthed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who mouths; an affected speaker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having the basal joints of the legs converted into jaws. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Mouthfuls 1. As much as is usually put into the mouth at one time. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, a small quantity. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A statement that has a profound truth in it; as, you said a mouthful! [ informal ] [ PJC ]

a. [ AS. mūðleás. ] Destitute of a mouth. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Spoken without sincerity; not heartfelt. “Mouth-made vows.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]