tooth
Definitions
General English
General Science
- noun a hard white object that is part of a set found in the jaws of vertebrates, used for biting and chewing
- noun a hard, sharp projection on an invertebrate that functions like or resembles a vertebrate tooth
Construction
- A fine texture in a paint film provided by pigments or by abrasives used in sanding, providing a base for adhesion of a second coat.
Medical
- noun one of a set of bones in the mouth which are used to chew food
Publishing
- noun the degree of surface roughness of a piece of paper
- noun the ability of paper to take ink well, caused by its having a slightly rougher surface
Origin & History of “tooth”
Etymologically, a tooth is an ‘eater’. Its ultimate source is the prehistoric Indo-European base *ed- ‘eat’, which also lies behind English eat and edible. from this was formed the noun *dont-, *dent- ‘tooth’, whose descendants include Latin dēns ‘tooth’ (source of English dentist, indent, trident (16th c.), etc), Greek odṓn ‘tooth’, (source of English odontology (19th c.)), Welsh dant ‘tooth’, and prehistoric Germanic *tanthuz. This evolved into German zahn, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish tand, and English tooth. A variant of *tanthuz may lie behind English tusk.
