tooth English · revision 7940

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 800|origins=ine-pro *h₃dónts}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tuːθ/, /tʊθ/; /tuθ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English toth, [[inh|ang|tōþ|t=tooth]] (plural tēþ),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from Proto-Germanic *tanþ-,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Dutch [[m|nl|tand]], Old Norse tǫnn, German [[m|de|Zahn]] and Gothic tunþus,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from PIE [[ine-pro|*h₃dónts|alt=*dent-|t=tooth]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) also the root of Latin [[m|la|dens|t=tooth]] and Greek odṓn.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) Hoad suggests that it was a participle of *ed-, to [[eat]], meaning the eater or chewer.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One of the hard structures in the mouth: Old English, before 800;^(Barnhart 1988) the plural before 900 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The plural teeth shows i-mutation.^(Etymonline) The loss of n before the spirant is regular in Old English, as in goose, five and mouth.^(Etymonline) An elephant's tusk, as a source of ivory, is from about 1050.^(OED 1989) Taste, appetite, liking, as in ''sweet tooth'', is from the late 14th century (about 1386),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and hostile or destructive power, ''the teeth of the wind'', from 1546.^(OED 1989) Tooth-like parts of saws or combs are from the late 15th century.^(Etymonline) ''Tooth and nail'', fiercely, is from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) and Word Origins notes that ''to set someone's teeth on edge'' comes from the Bible.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Armed to the teeth'' is from about 1300, and the tooth fairy is attested from 1964.^(Etymonline) The verb, to furnish with teeth, is from the late 15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 800 – tōþ.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1050 – a tusk, ivory.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 14th century – tooth and nail.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1386 – taste, appetite.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 15th century – teeth of a saw.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1964 – tooth fairy.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # One of the hard, bony structures in the jaws used for biting and chewing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something like a tooth, such as one of the points on a [[saw]], comb or [[gear]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # Biting or destructive force.^(OED 1989)

+ # A liking or taste for something: ''a sweet tooth''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To provide with teeth, or make jagged.^(AHD)

+ # Of gears, to interlock.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[toothlike]]

+ * [[bucktooth]]

+ * [[eyetooth]]

+ * [[dogtooth]]

+ * [[houndstooth]]

+ * [[snaggletooth]]

+ * [[toothwort]]

+ * [[foretooth]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[teeth]]

+ * [[dental]]

+ * [[dentist]]

+ * [[toothache]]

+ * [[toothbrush]]

+ * [[eat]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}