Glossolalia

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪliÉ™

Origin

From - + lalia + -.

Full definition of glossolalia

Noun

1. Speaking in tongues; speaking a language one does not know, or speaking elaborate but apparently meaningless speech, while in a trance-like state (or, supposedly, under the influence of spirits).
• 2012, Andy Martin, ‘Text Messenger’, Literary Review 404:Everything was a labyrinthine amalgam of languages, a towering Babel of puns and glossolalia.
2. Xenoglossy.

Usage notes

Some writers distinguish glossolalia from xenoglossy, taking the former to mean roughly "speaking a language one does not know" and the latter to mean roughly "knowledge of a language one has never learned". Others do not distinguish the two, using the terms interchangeably or using one term exclusively. When in doubt, it may be preferable to preserve this distinction, and/or to explain what one means when using each term.

Derived terms

• glossolalic
• glossolalist