diastema

[dahy-uh-stee-muh]

noun, plural di·a·ste·ma·ta [dahy-uh-stee-muh-tuh] /ˌdaɪ əˈsti mə tə/.

Cell Biology. the modified protoplasm at the equator of a cell, existing before mitotic division.

Dentistry. a space between two teeth, especially a space between a canine and an incisor of the upper jaw into which a lower canine occludes.

Nearby words

Origin of diastema

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin < Greek: interval, equivalent to diastē, variant stem of diastánai to stand apart + -ma noun suffix denoting the result of action

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

Examples from the Web for diastema

The teeth are in a continuous series; no diastema or maxillary step is evident.
Two New Pelycosaurs from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma|Richard C. Fox
Three specimens lack a diastema and 17 specimens have a diastema.
Morphological Variation in a Population of the Snake, Tantilla gracilis Baird and Girard|Laurence M. Hardy
Between them and the incisors above, and between the canine and the anterior pre-molar below, occurs a gap (or diastema).
A Hand-book to the Primates, Volume 1 (of 2)|Henry O. Forbes
Then the absence of a diastema in the tooth series, coupled with the presence in Macrauchenia of a complete dentition.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard

The diastema in front of the premolars is longer in the living Equidae than in their extinct allies.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for diastema

diastema

noun plural -mata (-mətə)

an abnormal space, fissure, or cleft in a bodily organ or part

a gap between the teeth

Word Origin for diastema

C19: New Latin, from Greek: gap, from diistanai to separate; see diastasis

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

Medicine definitions for diastema

diastema

[dī′ə-stē′mə]

n. pl. di•a•ste•ma•ta (-mə-tə)

A fissure or abnormal opening in a part, especially when congenital.

A gap or space between two adjacent teeth in the same dental arch.