Standard Lemma guide

sublingual

adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /sʌbˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌsʌbˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌsʌbˈlɪŋ.ɡju.əl/
  • rhymes with -ɪŋɡwəl

1

adj

Meaning 1

Administered through placement under the tongue.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, relational

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Situated beneath the tongue.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, relational

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: subglossal

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Of or pertaining to the sublingual gland.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, relational

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A particular scale near the front of the lower jaw in snakes, usually in a pair.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: relational

Topics: biology, herpetology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective

Meaning 5

beneath the tongue

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin sublinguālis, from sub- (“under, below, beneath”) + linguālis (“relating to the tongue”); equivalent to sub- + lingual.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: sublingual — administered by placement beneath the tongue
  • Polish: podjęzykowy — administered by placement beneath the tongue
  • Russian: сублингва́льный (sublingválʹnyj) — administered by placement beneath the tongue
  • Tagalog: pang-ilalim-dila — administered by placement beneath the tongue
  • Bulgarian: разположен под езика (razpoložen pod ezika) — situated beneath the tongue — see also hypoglossal
  • Finnish: kielenalainen — situated beneath the tongue — see also hypoglossal
  • French: sublingual — situated beneath the tongue — see also hypoglossal
  • Hungarian: nyelv alatti — situated beneath the tongue — see also hypoglossal
  • Polish: podjęzykowy — situated beneath the tongue — see also hypoglossal
  • Russian: подъязы́чный (podʺjazýčnyj) — situated beneath the tongue — see also hypoglossal
  • Russian: сублингва́льный (sublingválʹnyj) — situated beneath the tongue — see also hypoglossal
  • Spanish: sublingual — situated beneath the tongue — see also hypoglossal
  • Ukrainian: під'язико́вий (pidʺjazykóvyj) — situated beneath the tongue — see also hypoglossal