caries

[ kair-eez, -ee-eez ]

/ ˈkɛər iz, -iˌiz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caries ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural car·ies.

decay, as of bone or of plant tissue.

dental caries.

Nearby words

Origin of caries

First recorded in 1625–35, caries is from the Latin word cariēs decay

Can be confusedcaries carries

Definition for caries (2 of 2)

Carie

[ kar-ee ]

/ ˈkær i /

noun

a female given name, form of Caroline.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for caries

Caries of the teeth has been shown to bear highly important relation to more remote or systemic diseases.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2|Various
The existence of caries in a molar tooth may be ascertained by examining the mouth in the manner already described.
Special Report on Diseases of Cattle|U.S. Department of Agriculture
There are two forms of disease to which these teeth are liable; caries, or decay, and a loss of vitality, or death.
The Horse's Mouth|Edward Mayhew
In the best known species, Tilletia caries, they constitute the “bunt” of wheat.
Fungi: Their Nature and Uses|Mordecai Cubitt Cooke

By what means is a Caries that derives its Origine from an outward Cause, discover'd?
The Compleat Surgeon, or the Whole Art of Surgery Explain'd in a Most Familiar Method|Charles Gabriel Le Clerc

British Dictionary definitions for caries

caries

/ (ˈkɛəriːz) /

noun plural -ies

progressive decay of a bone or a tooth

Word Origin for caries

C17: from Latin: decay; related to Greek kēr death

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for caries

caries

1630s, from Latin caries "rottenness, decay," from Proto-Italic *kas-, usually said to be from PIE root *kere- "to injure, break apart" (cf. Greek ker "death, destruction," Old Irish krin "withered, faded"). Related: Carious. But de Vaan writes that "semantically, caries may just as well belong to careocared 'to lack' as 'defect, state of defectiveness' ...."