<P> The word tongue derives from the Old English tunge, which comes from Proto - Germanic * tungōn . It has cognates in other Germanic languages--for example tonge in West Frisian, tong in Dutch and Afrikaans, Zunge in German, tunge in Danish and Norwegian, and tunga in Icelandic, Faroese and Swedish . The ue ending of the word seems to be a fourteenth - century attempt to show "proper pronunciation", but it is "neither etymological nor phonetic". Some used the spelling tunge and tonge as late as the sixteenth century . </P> <P> The tongue is a muscular hydrostat that forms part of the floor of the oral cavity . The left and right sides of the tongue are separated by a vertical section of fibrous tissue known as the lingual septum . This division is along the length of the tongue save for the very back of the pharyngeal part and is visible as a groove called the median sulcus . The human tongue is divided into anterior and posterior parts by the terminal sulcus which is a V - shaped groove . The apex of the terminal sulcus is marked by a blind foramen, the foramen cecum, which is the remnant of median thyroid diverticulum in early embryonic development . The anterior oral part is the visible part situated at the front and makes up roughly two - thirds the length of the tongue . The posterior pharyngeal part is the part closest to the throat, roughly one - third of its length . These parts differ in terms of their embryological development and nerve supply . </P> <P> The anterior tongue is, at its apex (or tip), thin and narrow, it is directed forward against the lingual surfaces of the lower incisor teeth . The posterior part is, at its root, directed backward, and connected with the hyoid bone by the hyoglossi and genioglossi muscles and the hyoglossal membrane, with the epiglottis by three glossoepiglottic folds of mucous membrane, with the soft palate by the glossopalatine arches, and with the pharynx by the superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle and the mucous membrane . It also forms the anterior wall of the oropharynx . </P> <P> The average length of the human tongue from the oropharynx to the tip is 10 cm . The average weight of the human tongue from adult males is 70g and for adult females 60g . </P>

What is the tip of the tongue called