diastema

American  

[dahy-uh-stee-muh] / ˌdaɪ əˈsti mə /

noun

diastemata plural

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

2. 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.

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diastema British  

/ ˌdaɪəˈstiːmə /

noun

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

2. a gap between the teeth

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• diastemata
  plural

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

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 teeth are in a continuous series; no diastema or maxillary step is evident.

From Two New Pelycosaurs from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma by Fox, Richard C.

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.

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

From B. brachygnathus, B. kolbi differs in: molar row longer; m3 and jaw larger; diastema longer; masseteric ridge not so far forward; molars more depressed.

From Speciation and Evolution of the Pygmy Mice, Genus Baiomys by Packard, Robert L.