ὀδοντ-άγρα

ὀδοντ-άγρα, [dialect] Ion. [suff] ὀδόντ-η, ἡ,

A forceps for drawing teeth, Hp.Medic.9, Arist. Mech. 854a17, Plu.2.468c, Sor.2.63, Gal.17(1).911.

Grammatical information: m.

Meaning: `tooth'

Other forms: Ion.; ὀδούς (Arist., LXX; cf. below), ὀδόντος, Aeol. pl. ἔδοντες.

Compounds: Several compp., e.g. ὀδοντ-άγρα f. `tooth forceps' (Hp., Arist.), χαυλι-όδων (Hes. Sc. 387), ntr. - όδον and - όδουν (Arist.) `with protruding teeth'.

Derivatives: 1. Subst. ὀδοντάριον `little cog' (Heliod. ap. Orib.), ὀδοντ-ίς f. name of a fish (pap. III<sup>a</sup>; on the motive of the name Strömberg Fischnamen 45), - ᾶς m. `dentatus', - ίας m. `dentiosus' (Gloss.); odontītis f. `toothwort, Dentaria' (Plin.; Redard 74). 2. Adj. ὀδοντ-ικός `belonging to the teeth' (medic.), - ωτός `equipped with teeth' (Hero, Luc., Gal.), with ὀδοντόομαι `to be equipped with teeth' (Poll.). 3. Verbs. ὀδοντ-ιάω `to teethe' (Gal.) with - ίασις f. `teetheing' (Dsc., Gal.), - ίζω `to equip with teeth' (Orib.), `to polish (with one tooth)' (pap.; cf. charta dentata and Lagercrantz on PHolm. 4, 40), with - ισμός (Poll.), - ισμα (Eust.) `the grinding of teeth'.

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [289] * h₃dent- `tooth'

Etymology: Aeol. ἔδοντες (with second. barytonesis) suggests that ὀδόντ- stands with vowelassimilation for *ἐδόντ-. However, a tooth does not `eat'; it only bites. The h₃ is confirmed by Arm. atamn (Kortlandt, Armeniaca, index). It is further confirmed by νωδός, which requires *n̥-h₃d- (not an assimilated vowel). And also by ὀδύνη `pain' (with which Arm. erkn cannot be cognate, if only because of the - rk-. The form od- `bite' is also seen in Lith. úodas, Latv. uôds `gnat', from * h₃ed- (with long vowel after Winter's Law). The Aeolic form can easily have ἑδ- after ἔδω. The younger ὀδούς for ὀδών is after διδούς (Solmsen Wortforsch. 30 ff.; hardly acceptable doubt by Schwyzer 566; on the nom. sg. still Gaar Gymnasium 60, 169 ff. [ ὀδούς Att.], Leroy Mél. Jos. Hombert = Phoibos 5 [1950--51] 102 ff.). -- ὀδών, ὀδόντ-ος agrees with the old name of the tooth in Skt. dán, acc. dánt-am m. ( = ὀ-δόντ-α), Lith. dant-ìs m. (f.), Germ., e.g. OHG zan(d), IE * h₃d-ont-; the zero grade (IE *h₃d-n̥t-) in Goth. tunÞ-us ( tund- still in Goth. aihwatundjai [één teken] `tooth of a horse', Lamberterie RPh. LXXIV (2000)278), Lat. dēns a.o.; the original ablaut is still alive in Skt., e.g. gen. sg. dat-ás (\< *h₃dn̥t-ós) beside dánt-am; cf. also the Germ. forms. The zero grade is now assumed in Myc. odakeweta, -- tuweta, - tweta `(wheels) with teeth'), wether a technical detail or an ornament; Dicc. Mic. 2, 16). -- Mostly interpreted as "the eating" ptc. pres. of the verb for `eat' in ἔδω (s. v.). Semantic doubts by Benveniste BSL 32, 74 ff. (with other etymology); against this Solmsen l.c. Further forms with rich lit. in WP. 1, 120 (Pok. 289), and in the etym dictionaries, esp. W.-Hofmann s. dēns. -- Cf. νωδός and αἱμωδέω.

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