diastema
Americannoun
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diastemata
plural
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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
There are 12 and 13 maxillary teeth that increase in size posteriorly; these are followed by a short diastema and two larger, solid teeth.
From Systematic Status of the Colubrid Snake, Leptodeira discolor Gunther by William E. Duellman
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 Charles J. Cole
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
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
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.
