double-tongued

English

Etymology

From Middle English doubultongud, dowbyl townged, dubble tungyd, equivalent to double +‎ tongued.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Adjective

double-tongued (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) Saying one thing to one person and something different to another; double talking; deceitful in speech.
   • 1720, [Daniel Defoe], The Life, Adventures, and Pyracies, of the Famous Captain Singleton, London: […] J. Brotherton, […], J. Graves […], A. Dodd, […], and T. Warner, […], →OCLC, page 279:

     Thou art but a double-tongu'd Chriſtian, I doubt: […]

Synonyms

• twi-tongued (archaic)
• two-tongued

Translations

deceitful in speech

• German: doppelzüngig (de), zweigezüngt