tooth
A hard, calcified structure in the jaw used for biting and chewing.
Etymology
From Old English tōþ, from Proto-Germanic *tanþs, from PIE *h₁dónt- "tooth," a present participle of *h₁ed- "to eat" — literally "the eating one, the biter." This etymology reveals that PIE speakers named the tooth by its function.
The Journey: *h₁dónt- → tooth
*h₁dónt-
*tanþs
tōþ
tooth
tooth
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *h₁dónt-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | odoús (odontos) |
| Latin | dēns (dentis) |
| Welsh | dant |
| Armenian | atamn |
| Sanskrit | dán (dántas) |
| Lithuanian | dantìs |
Did You Know?
English "tooth" and Latin "dēns" look nothing alike, yet both come from PIE *h₁dónt-. Latin kept the d-, while Germanic shifted it to t- via Grimm's Law. Latin gave us "dental" and "dentist."
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁dónt-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.