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This research note explores the links between medieval thought on language and gender in the West between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. It opens perspectives on the history of linguistic ideologies, highlighting the importance of gender in power relations and language practices in the Middle Ages. The article begins by looking back to the moment when the expression “mother tongue” was invented in Latin to designate vernacular language in general. In light of recent research on the subject, it is clear that the term was imposed on written language practices in Latin without any ideological justification. Although of ecclesiastical origin, this expression gradually acquired a gendered connotation in educated circles during the fourteenth century, particularly among the pre-Humanists, who developed the metaphor of a nurturing “mother tongue”. Finally, this research note explores the study of everyday language practices, suggesting that gender marked social interactions in the late Middle Ages, both in the way people spoke and in the expectations linked to these exchanges.