Found 2 items, similar to mother tongue.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: mother tongue mother tongue n : one's native language; the language learned by children and passed from one generation to the next [syn: maternal language , first language]
English → English (gcide) Definition: Mother tongue Mother \Moth"er\, a. Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating. [1913 Webster] It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived. --T. Arnold. [1913 Webster] Mother cell (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions, gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell. Mother church, the original church; a church from which other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a diocese. Mother country, the country of one's parents or ancestors; the country from which the people of a colony derive their origin. Mother liquor (Chem.), the impure or complex residual solution which remains after the salts readily or regularly crystallizing have been removed. Mother queen, the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen mother. Mother tongue. (a) A language from which another language has had its origin. (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue. Mother water. See Mother liquor (above). Mother wit, natural or native wit or intelligence. [1913 Webster]