dent French · revision 16050

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland|origins=la dēns}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɑ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''dent''' ''f'' (plural dents)^(Wiktionary)

+ Masculine until the 14th century (''as denz menus''), feminine since; still masculine in Lorraine (''rire des gros dents'').^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|dēns|t=tooth]] (accusative “dentem”),^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|3, 40b) from the Indo-European word for “tooth” behind [[sa|दन्त्|tr=dánt]], [[grc|ὀδούς|tr=odoús]], [[de|Zahn]], [[en|tooth]] and [[cy|dant]]; the Greek form suggests a link with [[la|edō|alt=edere|t=to eat]], of which it may be a participle.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873) Wiktionary gives [[ine-pro|*h₃dónts]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Latin word was masculine, perhaps feminine already in Gregory of Tours, and it is masculine elsewhere in Romance ([[it|dente]], [[es|diente]], [[pt|dente]], [[ro|dinte]]); the feminine prevailed in Gallo-Romance except in the east (Champagne, Lorraine, Picard, Walloon), and the change is not well explained.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) has ''as dentz menus'', to the small teeth (masculine), and ''la dent seint Perre'', the relic of Saint Peter's tooth (feminine).^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Like most names of organs it has a rich phraseology: ''dire entre ses dents'' (about 1150), ''dents de lait'' (1330–1332), ''rire du bout des dents'' (1330–1332), ''montrer les dents'' “to show hostility” (1340), ''menteur comme un arracheur de dents'' (1507–1508), ''armé jusqu'aux dents'' (1538–1570) and ''serrer les dents'' (1548).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Chrétien de Troyes (1177–1179) has the teeth of a comb, and the early 14th century the teeth of a wheel.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) From 1862 (Renan) it is also a jagged mountain peak (''la Dent du Midi'').^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+

+ Derivatives include ''dental'' (1503), ''dentelle'' (1549, from ''dentele'' “little tooth”), ''dentier'' and ''dentiste'' (1728) and ''édenter'' (13th century).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The compound ''dent-de-lion'' gave Anglo-Norman and English ''dandelion''.^(AND)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Dentz'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1150 – ''Dire entre ses dents''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1177–1179 – The teeth of a comb, in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1330–1332 – ''Dents de lait''.^(TLFi)

+ * 14th century – The feminine prevails.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1340 – ''Montrer les dents''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538–1570 – ''Armé jusqu'aux dents''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1549 – ''Dentelle''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1728 – ''Dentiste''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1862 – A mountain peak.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|tooth]]: ''dents de lait'', ''dent de sagesse'', ''avoir mal aux dents'', ''faire ses dents'': to be teething.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A tooth (of a comb, saw, fork); a [[m|en|cog]] (of a wheel).^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A jagged mountain peak: ''la Dent Blanche''.^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+ # Phrases: ''avoir une dent contre qqn'': to bear a grudge, ''avoir les dents longues'': to be ambitious, ''à belles dents'': with gusto, ''en dents de scie'': jagged, up and down, ''quand les poules auront des dents'': when pigs fly.^(Wiktionary)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cure-dent]]

+ * [[dent-de-lion]]

+ * [[dentaire]]

+ * [[dental]]

+ * [[denté]]

+ * [[dentelé]]

+ * [[dentelle]]

+ * [[dentelure]]

+ * [[dentifrice]]

+ * [[dentiste]]

+ * [[dentition]]

+ * [[denture]]

+ * [[dentier]]

+ * [[adenter]]

+ * [[édenter]]

+ * [[dentaire]]

+ * [[dental]]

+ * [[denté]]

+ * [[dentelle]]

+ * [[dentier]]

+ * [[dentiste]]

+ * [[dentition]]

+ * [[denture]]

+ * [[édenté]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[trident]]

+ * [[la|dēns]]

+ * [[en|dandelion]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}