Dictionary

silver-tongued en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌsɪlvəˈtʌŋd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌsɪlvəɹˈtʌŋd/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From silver (“(noun) lustrous, white, metallic element; (adjective) consisting or made of silver; (figurative) soft and clear in sound; eloquent”) + tongued (“having a particular manner of speaking”), referring to the clear musical tone produced when silver is struck.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, informal) Articulate and charming in speech; eloquent; also, having a pleasant-sounding voice or way of speaking.
   • silver-tongued devil
   • [T]he statesman, whose inward feelings had at first so much impeded his efforts to make himself known, had now regained all the ease and fluency of a silver-tongued lawyer of the very highest order. 1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter I, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume II (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 8:
   • Mr. [Thomas] Parker ſoon became a pleader at the bar; travelled the Midland circuit; acquired additional eſteem, buſineſs, and property; vvas denominated the Silver-tongued Counſel; and found intereſt enough, in 1705, to cauſe himſelf to be returned a member for the borough, vvith Lord James Cavendiſh, ſon to the firſt Duke of Devonſhire. 1791, W[illiam] Hutton, “Eminent Men”, in The History of Derby; from the Remote Ages of Antiquity, to the Year MDCCXCI. […], London: […] J[ohn] Nichols, and sold by G[eorge] G. J. & J. Robinson, […], →OCLC, pages 284–285:
   • Siluer tongu'd Smith whoſe well tun'd ſtile hath made thy death the generall teares of the Muſes, queintlie couldſt thou deuiſe heauenly Ditties to Apollos Lute, and teach ſtately verſe to trip it as ſmoothly, as if Ouid and thou had but one ſoule. 1592, Thomas Nash[e], Pierce Penilesse His Supplication to the Deuill. […], London: […] [John Charlewood for] Richard Ihones, […], →OCLC, signature D3, verso:
   • Philips—Sergeant Gerheim's black, silver-tongued House Mouse—is telling everybody about the one thousand cherries he has busted. 1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 20:

Forms

Deriveds

silver tongue

Synonyms

melodious · mellifluent · euphonous · listenable · birdsweet · ariose · glib · melodic · concentual · harmonical · sweet-spoken · euphonic · dulcet · honey-tongued · dulcet · symphonious · euphonical · mellifluous · golden-tongued · birdsweet · mellifluent · euphonious · tuneful · harmonious · soundful · musical · mellifluous · canorous · tunable · honey-mouthed

Translations (25)

pl złotousty (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · nl eloquent (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · fi kaunopuheinen (having a pleasant-sounding voice or way of speaking) · ru красноречи́вый (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · nl bespraakt (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · fr beau parleur (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · pl wyszczekany (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · sh zlatòust (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · nl welsprekend (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · pl wygadany (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · fi sukkela (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · sh злато̀уст (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · pl elokwentny (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · uk красномóвний (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · uk красномовний (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · ru златоу́стый (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · es de voz encantador (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · nl welbespraakt (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · fi supliikki (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · fi sujuvapuheinen (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · fi taitavapuheinen (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · hu aranyszájú (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · fi taitavakielinen (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · hu ékesszóló (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent) · fi hyvä suustaan (articulate and charming in speech — see also eloquent)