mastodon
/ˈmæstəˌdɔːn/MA-stuh-dawn
/ˈmæstəˌdɔn/MA-stuh-dawn
Meaningbreast tooth
Common meaning: an extinct elephant-like animal
- masta breastLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 489 · scan
- dona toothLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1026 · scan
‘a breast’ + ‘a tooth’ → mastodon
Journey through time
- mast — Greek μαστός “a breast” (path traced)
- don — Greek ὀδούς, ὀδόντος “a tooth” (path traced)
- Greekμαστός + ὀδούς, ὀδόντος‘a breast + a tooth’
- Englishmastodon‘an extinct elephant-like animal’ · today
mast also in: mastectomy
don also in: periodontalorthodontist
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek μαστός ‘a breast’ + Greek ὀδούς ‘a tooth’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry ὀδούς, p. 1026 · dictionary scan
Roots
- μαστός Greek “a breast”
- ὀδούς, ὀδόντος Greek “a tooth”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app