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

Noun Inflected Forms

• 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

See Examples For:

diastema

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 Richard C. Fox

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 John Wellman

The diastema, if present, is a space distinctly wider than the spaces separating the prediastemal teeth.

From Morphological Variation in a Population of the Snake, Tantilla gracilis Baird and Girard by Charles J. Cole

Three specimens lack a diastema and 17 specimens have a diastema.

From Morphological Variation in a Population of the Snake, Tantilla gracilis Baird and Girard by Charles J. Cole