Tusk
/tʌsk/noun
A long, pointed tooth, especially one projecting from the mouth of an elephant, walrus, boar, or similar animal.
Did you know?English tusk comes from a Germanic word for a projecting tooth, and its deep history is tied to the idea of something stabbing out from the body rather than simply chewing.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dews-
“to bite; to chew”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*tuskan-
“a projecting tooth or fang”
Old English
OE
tusc
“a tusk; a fang”
Middle English
ME
tusk
“a large projecting tooth”
Modern English
English
tusk
“a long, pointed projecting tooth, especially of an elephant or boar”