diastema
Americannoun
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Cell Biology. the modified protoplasm at the equator of a cell, existing before mitotic division.
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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.
noun
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an abnormal space, fissure, or cleft in a bodily organ or part
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a gap between the teeth
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These days Ms. Hutton is just one in a roster of celebrities and runway stars embracing what is known in orthodontic circles as a midline diastema.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2012
The genus is characterized by maxillary teeth of equal size followed by a diastema and two enlarged grooved fangs.
From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by Wellman, John
From B. musculus, B. sawrockensis differs in: over-all size of jaw and molar row less; diastema more acutely curved; incisors shorter; anterior median fold of m1 slightly deeper.
From Speciation and Evolution of the Pygmy Mice, Genus Baiomys by Packard, Robert L.
We determined the number of fangs and the number of maxillary teeth anterior to them and recorded the presence or absence of a diastema between the anterior fang and the maxillary tooth immediately preceding it.
From Morphological Variation in a Population of the Snake, Tantilla gracilis Baird and Girard by Cole, Charles J.
The first premolar is not preserved, but its alveolus indicates that it was a single-rooted tooth, placed behind the canine after the intervention of a very short diastema.
From On The Affinities of Leptarctus primus of Leidy American Museum of Natural History, Vol. VI, Article VIII, pp. 229-331. by Wortman, Jacob Lawson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
