masticatory

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UK/ˌmasˈtɪk.eɪ.tər.i/US/mæˈstɪk.əˌtɔr.i/

noun

Something chewed, originally as a medicine, now typically for pleasure or to increase the flow of saliva.

OriginAncient Greek μαστιχάω →
UncommonScrabble 18
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Meanings

nounmasticatory (plural masticatories)

plural masticatories

  1. medicineSomething chewed, originally as a medicine, now typically for pleasure or to increase the flow of saliva.

    Sneezing, masticatories, and nasals are generally received.

    1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 5, member 1, subsection iv
adjectivemasticatory (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf, or relating to mastication.
  2. not comparableUsed for chewing.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekμαστιχάω“I gnash the teeth”
  2. Englishmasticatory

From Latin mastico + -atory, the former borrowed from Ancient Greek μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “I gnash the teeth”), from μάσταξ (mástax, “that with which one chews”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

masticatory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masticatory

MLA

“masticatory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masticatory. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “masticatory,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masticatory.

Source: masticatory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.