Etymologically
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dente

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Pronunciation

Forms

dente m (plural denti, diminutive dentìno or dentèllo, augmentative dentóne, pejorative dentàccio, endearing-derogatory dentùccio)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin dēns (“tooth”), continued through its accusative.[2][3][4][1] The word is found in every Romance language: French dent, Occitan dent, Catalan dent, Spanish diente, Portuguese dente, Sardinian dente, Romanian dinte, Friulian dint and Dalmatian diánt.[3][5][6] DÉRom reconstructs a masculine Proto-Romance noun; the feminine of French, Occitan and Catalan is a later change, while the outlying areas of the east, north and west keep the masculine.[7] Körting notes that Late Latin writers such as Gregory of Tours already treat the Latin word as feminine.[6] Its doublet is zanna (“tusk, fang”).[1]

The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Italic *dent- and Proto-Indo-European *h₃d-nt- (“tooth”).[8] Cognates include Old Irish dét, Welsh dant, Lithuanian dantìs, Gothic 𐍄𐌿𐌽𐌸𐌿𐍃 (tunþus), Old High German zand and Ancient Greek ὀδούς (odoús).[8][3] Nocentini and Devoto see in the word an old participle of the root Proto-Indo-European *ed- (“to eat”), “the eating one”, as in edō (“to eat”).[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Monza Glossary of the 9th or 10th century, for the tooth in the mouth that serves to chew.[2][10][4]

Semantic evolution

Before 1292 Bono Giamboni uses the word for a projection on a tool or gear, and before 1294 Guittone d'Arezzo for a bite or attack.[2] Dante speaks of the Lombard tooth that bit the holy Church (quando il dente longobardo morse / la santa Chiesa), and the figurative “tooth” of hunger or envy is still used.[4][11] Fogazzaro uses the word for a sharp mountain peak in 1881, as in the name Dente del Gigante.[2][11]

DELI thinks dente da latte “milk tooth” a northern phrase that replaced Tuscan dente lattaiolo, and dente del giudizio “wisdom tooth” a popular form of the traditional dente della sapienza, which Cardona saw as a calque of Arabic.[2] Many derivatives came through French: dentiera (1797), dentifricio, dentista (1760) and dentizione.[2]

Timeline

  • 9th–10th century – Dente appears in the Monza Glossary.[2][10]
  • Late 13th century – Dentice “dentex fish” in Folgore da San Gimignano.[2]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for a projection on a tool.[2]
  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for a bite or attack.[2]
  • 1304 – Dentello in Giordano da Pisa.[2]
  • 1760 – Dentista appears in the Gazzetta veneta.[2]
  • 1797 – Dentiera “dentures” is recorded.[2]
  • 1881 – Fogazzaro uses it for a mountain peak.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (anatomy) A tooth: Mi fa male un dente da ieri sera.[4][12][11]
  2. An artificial tooth.[4]
  3. A tooth or prong of a comb, fork, rake or saw: Il pettine ha perso due denti.[4][11]
  4. A cog of a gear wheel.[4][1]
  5. (figurative) A gnawing pang, or a destructive force: il dente della gelosia.[4][11]
  6. A sharp, jagged mountain peak.[4][11]
  7. (botany) A small point on the margin of a leaf or petal.[4][11]
  8. (fortification) A work with two faces meeting in an angle that points toward the enemy.[4][11]

Word family

  • dentale
  • dentario
  • dentata
  • dentato
  • dentatura
  • dentello
  • dentellare
  • dentice
  • dentiera
  • dentifricio
  • dentina
  • dentista
  • dentizione
  • dentino
  • addentare
  • sdentato
  • stuzzicadenti
  • dentarolo
  • sdentare
  • zanna
  • Latin dens

Usage notes

Common idioms include al dente (of pasta or rice, cooked to stay firm), a denti stretti (reluctantly, or with all one's strength), armato fino ai denti, avere il dente avvelenato (to bear a grudge) and occhio per occhio, dente per dente.[12][13][14][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 19, 1072
  6. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  7. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
  8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana