Bucktooth

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A large front tooth that sticks out noticeably from the mouth ; a person who has such prominent front teeth
2. An upper front tooth that projects forward past the others ; someone whose teeth jut out in this way
3. A conspicuously protruding incisor in the upper jaw ; an individual characterized by having such projecting front teeth

Etymology: Buck-toothed is a plain compound: "buck" plus "tooth", with no older, hidden history behind either part. The "buck" here is the one that names the male deer and other male animals, and it has long been used in English to mean something large, strong or prominent in build. A bucktooth is therefore a large, prominently projecting front tooth, most often one of the upper incisors, and the adjective describes a person whose teeth stick out in that way. The compound is transparent enough that the picture is easy to see: the tooth stands out like the antler or the forward-jutting head of a buck. Because both elements are plain native English words, the term needs no borrowing from another language to explain it.

Synonyms: protruding tooth