heterodont

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₃ed-“to bite”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromὀδούς“tooth; tusk”
3. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sem-“together; one”
4. Ancient Greek · derived fromἕτερος“one or the other of two; different”
5. English todayheterodont

From hetero- (prefix meaning ‘different’) + -odont (suffix meaning ‘tooth; toothed’). Hetero- is derived from Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros, “one or the other of two; different”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together; one”); while -odont is from Ancient Greek ὀδούς (odoús, “tooth; tusk”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- (“to bite”) + *-ónts (suffix forming nouns denoting body parts). By surface analysis, hetero- + -odont.

Words from the same roots