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.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for diastema

Historical Examples of diastema

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
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
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
The canines were not greatly enlarged, and no diastema separated any of the teeth.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia
Frank Evers Beddard
The small size of the canine and of the first premolar produces a diastema in the tooth series.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia
Frank Evers Beddard

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

diastema in Medicine

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.