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edentate

[ ee-den-teyt ]
/ iˈdɛn teɪt /
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adjective
belonging or pertaining to the Edentata, an order of New World mammals characterized by the absence of incisors and canines in the arrangement of teeth and comprising the armadillos, the sloths, and the South American anteaters.
toothless.
noun
an edentate mammal.
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Origin of edentate

First recorded in 1820–30; from Latin ēdentātus, past participle of ēdentāre “to knock the teeth out”; equivalent to ē- variant of ex- “out of” + dent- (stem of dēns ) “tooth” + -ātus past participle ending of first conjugation verbs; see origin at e-1, tooth, -ate1

Words nearby edentate

edema, Eden, Eden, Garden of, Eden Prairie, Eden Project, edentate, edentulous, Eder, Ederle, EDES, Edessa
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to edentate

aardvark, anteater, armadillo, sloth

How to use edentate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for edentate

edentate
/ (iːˈdɛnteɪt) /
noun
any of the placental mammals that constitute the order Edentata, which inhabit tropical regions of Central and South America. The order includes anteaters, sloths, and armadillos
adjective
of, relating to, or belonging to the order Edentata

Word Origin for edentate

C19: from Latin ēdentātus lacking teeth, from ēdentāre to render toothless, from e- out + dēns tooth
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

Scientific definitions for edentate

edentate
[ ē-dĕn′tāt′ ]
Adjective
Lacking teeth.
Noun
Any of various mammals belonging to the order Xenarthra (or Edentata), having no front teeth and few or no back teeth. The lumbar vertebrae have extra joints, which add support during digging. Sloths, armadillos, and anteaters are edentates.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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