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; e- ¹, tooth, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

A parallel case is, perhaps, to be found in the hairy armadillo, an extremely versatile and intelligent animal, although only an edentate.

From The Naturalist in La Plata by Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)

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

From The Elements of Geology by Norton, William Harmon

An edentate mammal, of the genus Orycteropus, somewhat resembling a pig, common in some parts of Southern Africa.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

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

Armadillo, �rm-a-dil′o, n. a small American edentate quadruped, having its body armed with bands of bony plates:—pl.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various