Tricuspids

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Referring to teeth located at the side of the upper or lower jaw used for grinding food ; describing heart valves with three pointed cusps that control blood flow between chambers ; relating to anatomical structures having three distinct points or projections
2. Pertaining to molar teeth with three rounded projections for chewing ; indicating a heart valve composed of three leaflets that regulate blood passage ; concerning any bodily part characterized by a tripartite pointed shape
3. Identifying premolar teeth equipped with three sharp tips for mastication ; denoting the three-flap valve in the heart managing blood direction ; applicable to any formation or organ marked by a triple cusp or peak

Etymology: "Tricuspids" is the plural of "tricuspid," so the entry is simply the adjective's plural form, used as a noun for the three-leaflet valves or molars it describes. The root word, "tricuspid," is built from "tri-," meaning three, and "cuspid," a term for a pointed projection, ultimately from Latin "cuspis," meaning point or spike. "Cuspid" itself is a derivative of that Latin noun, so the whole word is literally "three points." The "tri-" element comes from Latin and Greek, both of which used it for the number three, so the prefix is shared across a large family of English words. Anatomists took "cuspid" and combined it with that prefix to describe teeth and valves with three such points.

Synonyms: cuspids, canines