Where does “silver tongue” come from?

silver tongue (English) comes from English tongue, from Middle English tung, from Old English tung, from Proto-West Germanic tungā, from Proto-Germanic tungǭ, from Proto-Indo-European dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s — tongue.

silver tongue (English): The trait of being clever at speaking, often in a...

Definitions

  1. The trait of being clever at speaking, often in a...

Ancestry of “silver tongue”, step by step

silver tongue traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English tongue

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtongueThe flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is...
2Middle Englishtungtongue; A tongue-shaped thing; language, speech,...
3Old Englishtung
4Proto-West Germanictungātongue; speech, language
5Proto-Germanictungǭtongue; speech, language
6Proto-Indo-Europeandn̥ǵʰwéh₂stongue

via English Silver

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSilverfor a silversmith or a rich man, or for someone having silvery gray hair or living by a silvery brook
2GermanSilbersilver; argent
3Middle High Germansilber
4Old High Germansilbarsilver
5Proto-West Germanic*silubrsilver
6Proto-Germanicsilubrąsilver
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dn̥ǵʰwéh₂sEvery word from Proto-Germanic tungǭEvery word from Proto-West Germanic tungā