the gift of tongues
Preserved but no longer current.
Command of foreign languages; also the power claimed by the Early Church and by some later mystics (as the Irvingites) of conversing and understanding unknown tongues (from the miracle at Pente- cost— Acts ii, 4). The three tongues. See THREE.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “the gift of tongues” mean?
Command of foreign languages; also the power claimed by the Early Church and by some later mystics (as the Irvingites) of conversing and understanding unknown tongues (from the miracle at Pente- cost— Acts ii, 4). The three tongues. See THREE.
Is “the gift of tongues” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.