carnassial
[kahr-nas-ee-uh l]Zoology
adjective
(of teeth) adapted for shearing flesh.
noun
a carnassial tooth, especially the last upper premolar or the first lower molar tooth of certain carnivores.
Origin of carnassial
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for carnassial
Historical Examples of carnassial
From the carnassial tooth you can infer the reduced clavicle, and so on.
Form and FunctionE. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
The carnassial tooth of the upper jaw has three lobes to the blade; that of the lower jaw is without an inner cusp.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., MammaliaFrank Evers Beddard
The carnassial teeth are not typically developed, and the molars are broad and tuberculate.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., MammaliaFrank Evers Beddard
The carnassial tooth is less emphasised in this group than in the Cats.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., MammaliaFrank Evers Beddard
There is no carnassial tooth, and the teeth in other ways differ considerably from those of Carnivora vera.
The Vertebrate SkeletonSidney H. Reynolds
carnassial
adjective
noun
Word Origin for carnassial
C19: from French carnassier meat-eating, from Provençal, from carnasso abundance of meat, from carn meat, flesh, from Latin carō
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