Gomphodont
/ɡɒmˈfəʊdɒnt/noun
Having teeth with broad, blunt, or peg-like cusps, especially in zoological descriptions.
Did you know?The first element, Greek gomphos, meant a peg, bolt, or nail, and survives in gomphosis—the anatomical joint anchoring a tooth in its socket.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
gomphos
“A peg, bolt, or nail; something driven firmly into place”
Ancient Greek
Greek
odous, odontos
“Tooth; the genitive form odontos supplied the combining stem odont-”
19th Century
Scientific Latin
Gomphodontia
“A zoological group or dental type characterized by peg-like or blunt-cusped teeth”
19th Century
Scientific English
gomphodont
“Having teeth shaped like pegs or bearing broad, blunt cusps”
Modern English
English
gomphodont
“A technical zoological adjective describing a gomphodont dentition or organism”
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