Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK Und.) the tongue.

1871–82

B.M. Carew Life and Adventures.

2. (Romani) speech.

1891

Exeter & Plymouth Gaz. 15 Oct. 6/3: The horse dealers prevail [...] with the distinctive Romany characteristics not only in their faces, but also in the ‘chive,’ as the patter of the back slang and the rhyming slang [...] tells you.