edentulous

English

WOTD – 18 November 2008

Etymology

Latin edentulus, which is in turn derived from the prefix e-, meaning "without", and the word dens, meaning "tooth."

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /iːˈdɛnt.jʊ.ləs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /iˈdɛnt.jʊ.ləs/, /iˈdɛn.t͡ʃʊ.ləs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

edentulous (not comparable)

1. (sciences) Toothless.

   Antonym: dentulous

   • 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 309:

     A Malay elder crawled on to the veranda, greeted Crabbe with an edentulous "Tabek!" and then crouched in a dark corner, chewing a quid of sireh with hard gums.

   • 2000, Patrick J. Stevens et al., chapter 7, in Implant Prosthodontics: Clinical and Laboratory Procedures, →ISBN, page 87:

     Partial edentulism has traditionally been treated with conventional fixed prosthetics when adequate natural tooth abutments are available to support the edentulous span.

Usage notes

• An edentulous animal is one that is missing teeth it normally has. An animal that normally has no teeth, such as an anteater, is edentate.

Derived terms

• edentulosity
• edentulousness
• semiedentulous

Translations

toothless — see toothless