Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Spoken rather than written.
  • adjective Of or relating to the mouth.
  • adjective Used in or taken through the mouth.
  • adjective Consisting of or using speech.
  • adjective Linguistics Articulated through the mouth only, with the nasal passages closed.
  • adjective Psychology Of or relating to the first stage of psychosexual development in psychoanalytic theory, from birth to about 18 months, during which the mouth is the chief focus of exploration and pleasure. The oral stage is followed by the anal stage.
  • noun An academic examination in which questions and answers are spoken rather than written.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In crinoids, same as oral valve (which see, under oral).
  • Of or pertaining to the mouth or ingestive opening: as, the oral orifice; oral surgery; oral gestation.
  • Uttered by the mouth or in words; spoken, not written: as, oral traditions; oral testimony; oral law.
  • Using or concerned with speech only, and not writing; communicating instruction, etc., by word of mouth; viva voce.
  • In zoology, situated on the same part or side of the body as the mouth: opposed to aboral or anal.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Uttered by the mouth, or in words; spoken, not written; verbal
  • adjective Of or pertaining to the mouth; surrounding or lining the mouth.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Relating to the mouth; mouthly.
  • adjective Spoken rather than written.
  • noun countable A spoken test or examination, particularly in a language class.
  • noun countable A physical examination of the mouth.
  • noun uncountable oral sex.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective using speech rather than writing
  • adjective a stage in psychosexual development when the child's interest is concentrated in the mouth; fixation at this stage is said to result in dependence, selfishness, and aggression
  • adjective of or involving the mouth or mouth region or the surface on which the mouth is located
  • adjective of or relating to or affecting or for use in the mouth
  • noun an examination conducted by spoken communication

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin ōrālis, from Latin ōs, ōr-, mouth; see ōs- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From New Latin oralis ("of the mouth"), from Latin os ("the mouth").

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