You’ve probably heard of people who are “bilingual.” They speak two languages fluently.

But what about sublingual (see definition below)? You can quickly determine the word’s meaning by breaking it down into its Latin root components–sub means “under,” and lingua means “tongue.”

Sublingual is commonly used to describe a type of pill that is placed under the tongue. Instead of swallowing or chewing the pill, it dissolves quickly under the tongue.

This type of pill might be used for, say, nitroglycerin tablets that are given to help prevent a heart attack. Some vitamins, such as B12, are also given in this way.

Not all vitamins and medications are available in a sublingual form. But if you need to take a pill, you might want to ask just in case!

Cool word question of the day: Can you think of other words that begin with the prefix “sub”?

SUBLINGUAL: Under the tongue.