dentiste

Forms

dentiste m or f by sense (plural dentistes)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French dent + -iste.^[2][1][3][4] The base noun is from Latin dēns (“tooth”).^[5] Earlier, Ambroise Paré had used the word dentateur.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert date it to 1728, in the title of Pierre Fauchard's Le Chirurgien dentiste, ou Traité des dents, and the DHLF thinks Fauchard probably coined it.^[3][7][8] The TLFi and the GLLF give 1735, in the Mercure de France.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word competed with and replaced the name barbier-chirurgien.^[8] The profession moved from the barber-surgeon and the tooth-puller to a specialised doctor or surgeon at the start of the 19th century, and a specialised diploma was first proposed in a bill of 1847.^[8] Since the 19th century the word has named a qualified practitioner allowed to treat the teeth, perform dental surgery and give care to the mouth.^[8][7] It is used in apposition in chirurgien-dentiste in France and médecin-dentiste in Switzerland.^[8][7] The derivative dentisterie is first recorded in 1889.^[2]

Timeline

• 1728 – Pierre Fauchard's Le Chirurgien dentiste.^[3][8]
• 1735 – The Mercure de France uses the word.^[2]
• 1847 – A bill proposes a specialised diploma.^[8]
• 1889 – First record of dentisterie.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dentist, a qualified practitioner who treats the teeth and performs dental surgery.^[7][2][4]
2. (historical) A practitioner who treated the teeth before the profession was regulated.^[7]

Word family

• dentisterie

Related words

• dent
• dentier
• Latin dēns

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert