Cuspids

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of tooth characterized by a pointed shape, commonly known as a canine tooth
2. Referring to the sharp, conical teeth located in the front of the jaw, utilized for tearing food
3. A dental term describing the pointed teeth situated between the incisors and molars, important for feeding and biting

Etymology: "Cuspids" is the plural of "cuspid," the name for the sharp, pointed teeth flanking the incisors, sometimes called canines. The Latin "cuspis" meant "point" or "apex," and it is the same root that gave English "cusp," a sharp point or tip, which makes "cusp" and "cuspid" doublets: two words from one source that entered English by different routes. "Cusp" came in through a different path, so its meaning of a point on a curve or the pointed end of something has drifted in its own direction, while "cuspid" stayed close to the anatomical sense. The "-id" ending is the Latin stem "cuspid-," the form "cuspis" takes when another ending is added, so the word is essentially the Latin noun itself reshaped for English use. Dentists use the term for the tooth whose single point does the tearing work of the mouth, a job the Latin noun's sense of "point" describes exactly.

Synonyms: canines, fangs, sharp teeth, pointed teeth, incisors