Etymology

odontoblast

O1D2O1N1T1O1B3L1A1S1T1

Today it means: A cell on the outer surface of dental pulp that produces tooth dentin. Full definition →

Ancient Greek βλᾰστός (blăstós) ← English odonto- ← Proto-Hellenic *odónts
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₃dónts
  3. Proto-Hellenic*odónts
  4. Ancient Greekὀδούς (odoús)
  5. Englishodonto-
  6. Ancient Greekβλᾰστᾰ́νω (blăstắnō)
  7. Ancient Greekβλᾰστός (blăstós)
  8. English todayodontoblast

From odonto- + -blast.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.