noun · masculinethird declension
dēns
dēns m (genitive dentis)
Classical[ˈdẽːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈdɛns]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- a tooth
nec procul ā stabulīs audet discēdere, sīquā
Nor [does a] lamb dare to withdraw far from the sheep-folds, if it was ever torn from the teeth of a hungry wolf. (The flexibility of Latin word order allows Ovid to heighten tension by enjoining the words for lamb and wolf. Translations vary; was the lamb ever torn “by the teeth” of a wolf, or did a shepherd once rescue the lamb “from the teeth” of a wolf?)8 CE – 12 CE, Ovidius, Tristia 1.77–78prō dentibus gladiōs habent
They have swords for teeth.1803, Joanne Nep. Alber, Interpretatio Sacrae Scripturae per Omnes Veteris et Novi Testamenti Libros, 30:14, page 172: - metonymicallya tooth, point, spike, prong, tine, fluke, or any tooth-like projection
- figurativelytooth of envy, envy, ill will
- figurativelytooth of a destroying power
nam quid in oppressū validō dūrābit eōrum, ut mortem effugiat, lēti sub dentibus ipsīs? ignis an ūmor an aura? quid hōrum? sanguen an ossa?
For which of them will last—and escape death—under the strong pressure, under the very teeth of annihilation? The fire, or the moisture, or the air? Which of these? The blood, or the bones?c. 99 BCE – 55 BCE, Lucretius, De rerum natura 1.851–853Tempus edāx rērum, tūque, invidiōsa vetustās, omnia dēstruitis, vitiātaque dentibus aevī paulātim lentā cōnsūmitis omnia morte.
O Time, devourer of all things, and you, jealous Old Age, you destroy everything; and, through the teeth of time, and a slow, tainted death, little by little, you consume everything.8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 15.233–235
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
dentibus cibum frangimus; dentēs in ōre sunt, albī et dūrī.dēns dentis m — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum
in ōre, quō edimusdēns, dentis (m) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 3
tooth
dēns, dentis (m) — in De Bello Gallico III
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | dēns denticulus | dentēs denticulī |
| genitive | dentis denticulī | dentium denticulōrum |
| dative | dentī denticulō | dentibus denticulīs |
| accusative | dentem denticulum | dentēs dentīs, denticulōs |
| ablative | dente denticulō | dentibus denticulīs |
| vocative | dēns denticule | dentēs denticulī |
dens, dentis (
I. gen. plur. usually dentium, but dentum is approved by Varr. L. L. 7, 38, 67), m. root in Sanscr. dantas, Gr. ὀδούς, Goth. tunthus, Germ. Zahn, and Engl. tooth; cf. edo, Engl. eat, a tooth.
I. Prop.: cui auro dentes juncti escunt, XII. Tab. 10, 9; Plin. 11, 37, 61, § 160 sq.; Cels. 8, 1; Cic. N. D. 2, 54; Isid. 11, 1, 52:
primores, the front teeth, Plin. 7, 16, 15, § 68; also called adversi acuti, Cic. N. D. 2, 54: praecisores, Isid. 11, 1, 52; and in beasts: rapaces, Veg. Vet. 6, 1, 1: canini, the canine teeth, eye-teeth, Varr. R. R. 2, 7, 3; Cels. 8, 1; Plin. 11, 37, 61, § 160; in horses: columellares, Varr. R. R. 2, 7, 2; Plin. 11, 37, 61, § 160: maxillares, the jaw-teeth, grinders, Cels. 8, 1; called also genuini, Cic. l. l.; and molares, Isid. l. l. et saep.: dentes scalpere, Plin. 30, 4, 9, § 27: fricare, id. ib.: scariphare, id. 28, 11, 49, § 179; cf. id. 30, 3, 8, § 21: mobiles confirmare, id. 28, 11, 49, § 178; cf.: mobiles stabilire, id. 32, 7, 26, § 80: eximere, to extract, Cels. 6, 9; so, evellere, Plin. 30, 3, 8, § 25: extrahere, id. 32, 7, 26, § 79: excutere, Juv. 16, 10 et saep.: dens Indus, i. e. the elephant's, Ov. M. 8, 288; hence for ivory, id. ib. 11, 167; also called dens Libycus, Prop. 2, 31, 12 (3, 29, 12 M.): Numida, Ov. P. 4, 9, 28; and Erythraeus, Mart. 13, 100.—2. Prov.
a. Albis dentibus deridere aliquem, i. e. to laugh heartily at a person (so as to show one's teeth), Plaut. Ep. 3, 3, 48.—
b. Venire sub dentem, to fall into the jaws, under the clutches of, Petr. 58, 6.—
c. Dentem pro dente, tooth for tooth, Vulg. Matt. 5, 38.—
B. Meton. of things resembling a tooth, a tooth, point, spike, prong, tine, fluke, etc.:
aratri, Col. 2, 4, 6; Verg. G. 2, 423 al.; cf. Varr. L. L. 5, § 135 Müll.: (irpicis) acc. to id. ib.: pectinis, id. ib.; Tib. 1, 9, 68: (clavi) id. 1, 2, 18: serrae, Plin. 16, 43, 83, § 227; Vitr. 1, 5; cf. Ov. M. 8, 246, and 6, 58; hence, in architecture, the walls indentated like the teeth of a saw, which connected the two main walls, Vitr. 6, 11: forcipis, id. 10, 2: (ancorae) Verg. A. 6, 3; for falx (vinitorum), the pruning-hook, id. G. 2, 406 et saep.—II. Trop., the tooth of envy, envy, ill-will:
more hominum invident, in conviviis rodunt, in circulis vellicant: non illo inimico sed hoc maledico dente carpunt, Cic. Balb. 26: invidus, Hor. Od. 4, 3, 16: ater, id. Epod. 6, 15.—B. Of a destroying power:
leti sub dentibus ipsis, Lucr. 1, 852; cf. of time: vitiataque dentibus aevi consumere omnia, Ov. M. 15, 235; and of water: aqua dentes habet, Petr. 42; of malice: malignitatis dentes vitare, Val. Max. 4, 7, extr. 2.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
dēns dentis, m
ED-, a tooth : dentibus in ore constructis: eorum adversi acuti ... intimi, qui genuini vocantur, the front teeth ... grinders : puer, nondum omni dente renato, Iu.: dentīs exacuit sus, tusks , V.: viperei, O.: eburnei, elephants' : Indi, the elephant's , O.: gemmae et dentes Indi, ivory , O.: Libycus, ivory , Pr.— A tooth, point, spike, prong, tine, fluke : aratri, V.: perpetui (serrae), O.: insecti pectine dentes (i. e. insectus dentibus pecten), O.: tenax (ancorae), V.: curvus Saturni, the pruning-hook , V.—Fig., a tooth : maligno dente carpunt, of hatred : invidus, H.: ater, H.: Theoninus, i. e. slanderous tongue , H.: tangere singula dente superbo, aristocratic daintiness , H.: dentes aevi, O.
Origins
Derived from Proto-Italic *dents, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts. Cognates include Ancient Greek ὀδούς (odoús), Sanskrit दत् (dát), Lithuanian danti̇̀s, Old English tōþ (English tooth), and Armenian ատամ (atam).
Gallo-Romance
- Frenchdentfrom Old French dent
- Catalandent
- Occitandent
- Franco-Provençaldent
- Picarddint
- Walloondintfrom Old French dent
Ibero-Romance
- Portuguesedentefrom Old Galician-Portuguese dente
- Spanishdientefrom Old Spanish dente
- Aragonesedient
- Asturiandiente
- Mirandesediente
- Faladentifrom Old Galician-Portuguese dente
- Galiciandentefrom Old Galician-Portuguese dente
- Ladinodientefrom Old Spanish dente
- Ladinoדיינטיfrom Old Spanish dente
Balkan Romance
- Romaniandinte
- Aromaniandinti
- Aromaniandinte
- Istro-Romaniandinte
- Megleno-Romaniandinti
Italo-Romance
- Italiandente
- Corsicandente
- Corsicandenti
- Neapolitandente
- Siciliandenti
Insular Romance
- Sardiniandènte
Elsewhere
- Englishdens
- Esperantodento
- Interlinguadente
- TranslingualDentella
- TranslingualCompressidens
Dalmatian
- unknowndiant
Padanian
- Emiliandänt
- Piedmontesedent
- Romagnoldént
- Venetandente
- Venetandénte
Rhaeto-Romance
- Friuliandint
- Ladindent
- Lombarddent
- Romanshdent