edentate

American  

[ee-den-teyt] / iˈdɛn teɪt /

adjective

1. 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.

2. toothless.

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noun

1. an edentate mammal.

edentate British  

/ iːˈdɛnteɪt /

noun

1. 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

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the order Edentata

edentate Scientific  

/ ē-dĕn′tāt′ /

1. Lacking teeth.

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1. 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.

Etymology

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, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Ant-eaters, a family of edentate mammals, have a tubular mouth with a small aperture, and a long tongue covered with a viscid secretion, which they thrust into the ant-hills and then withdraw covered with ants.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

He secured Brigham's everlasting gratitude by making him a very handsome false set, and performing the same service for all of his favorite, but edentate wives.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 78, April, 1864 by Various

To lose one’s spoon would be almost as serious as it is for an edentate person to lose his set of false teeth.”

From South: the story of Shackleton's 1914-1917 expedition by Shackleton, Ernest Henry, Sir

The palatine is small, curved anteriorly and edentate.

From The Systematics of the Frogs of the Hyla Rubra Group in Middle America by león, Juan R.

The Glyptodon was a mailed edentate, eight feet long, resembling the little armadillo.

From The Elements of Geology by Norton, William Harmon