| 释义 |
▪ I. tooth, n.|tuːθ|
Pl. teeth |tiːθ|. Forms: see below, sense 1.
[OE. tóþ, tóð (:—*tanþ), Com. Teut. and Com. Indo-Eur.; OFris. tôth, tond, (NFris. tôth, EFris. tond); OS. tand (MLG. tand, tan, LG. tan; MDu. tant (d), Du. tand; OHG. zana, zan (MHG. zant, zan, Ger. zahn); ON. tǫnn (:—tanþuz; Sw., Da. tand, NNorw. tonn); beside Gothic tunþus;:—OTeut. *tanþ- and *tunþ-:—Indo-Eur. dent, dont, dnt, whence Skr. dan, danta, Gr. ὀ-δούς (ὀ-δόντ-ς), L. dens (dent-s), OIr. dét (*dent), W. dant, Lith. dantìs. The termination agrees with that of pr. pples., whence Pott conjectured an original *ed-ont-, pr. pple. of ed- to eat; i.e. ‘an eater’. OE. tóþ was originally a masculine consonantal stem, with dative sing. téþ (:—tóþi), pl. nom. téþ (:—*tóþiz), gen. tóþa, dat. tóþum (in early ME. toþen). A rare pl. tóþas after masc. -oz stems also occurs. An umlaut pl. is seen also in OFris. têth, MLG. tene, LG. täne, OHG. zeni, MHG. zene, Ger. zähne. In use the plural is much more frequent than the singular, and in some dialects the latter is sometimes assimilated to it as ‘a teeth’.
A double plural teeths was formerly (and is still dial.) used in speaking of a number of persons; e.g. in spite of their teeths, pl. of in spite of his teeth: see senses 4 d, 5.]
I.
1. a. In plural, the hard processes within the mouth, attached (usually in sockets) in a row to each jaw in most vertebrates except birds (but also in some extinct birds), having points, edges, or grinding surfaces, and serving primarily for biting, tearing, or trituration of solid food, and secondarily as weapons of attack or defence, and for other purposes; in singular, each of these individually.
In mammals usually consisting of dentine coated with cement around the root and with enamel in the exposed part; but in some cases horny, chitinous, or osseous. In some animals, also occurring on other parts, as the tongue or pharynx. Also, applied to similar or analogous structures occurring in the mouth or alimentary canal in some invertebrates.
sing. 1 tóð (dat. téð), 1–4 tóþ (3 toþþ Orm.), 4–5 toþe, 4–6 toth, tothe, tuth; 5 tooþ (thothe, toyth, toeth, tuthe), 5–6 toothe; 5– tooth. (Also 6 touthe, Sc. twth, twith, twithe, 6–7 touth, 6– Sc. tuith. The shortened vowel in Ormin's toþþ is anomalous: see toth.)
a900K. ælfred Laws c. 19 Selle his aᵹen fore, toð fore teð. c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. v. 38 Eᵹe for eᵹe toð for toþ. c1250Gen. & Ex. 4148 Ðoȝ him lestede hise siȝte briȝt, And euerilc toð bi tale riȝt. a1300Cursor M. 23798 To tell þe soth, Bath me wantes tung and toth [v.r. toþe, toþ]. 1382Wyclif Matt. v. 38 It is said Eiȝe for eiȝe, toth for toth. a1425Cursor M. 6040 (Trin.) A litil beest Of tooþ is not vnfoulest. 1481Caxton Reynard viii. (Arb.) 15 Olde wymen that..had not one toeth in her heed. 1483Cath. Angl. 398/1 A Tuthe, dens. 1530Palsgr. 282/1 Tothe, dent. 1562Turner Herbal ii. 107 b, Pylletoris is good for the tuth ach if the tuth be wasshed with vinegre. 1620Shelton Quix. (1746) IV. ii. 11 Meddle not with a hollow Tooth. 1709–10Steele Tatler No. 127 ⁋11 She has not a Tooth in her Head. 1852Thackeray Esmond i. ii, She was lean, and yellow, and long in the tooth.
pl. 1 tóeþ, 1–4 téþ, téð, (dat. 1 tóþum, -an, 2–3 -en), (3 tieth), 4 teþe (teþþe, Sc. tetht), 4–5 teeþ, 4–6 teth, tethe, 5–6 teethe, teithe, 6 teath, (tithe), 5– teeth (Sc. 6– teith); also 1 tóþas, 6 tothes.
c725Corpus Gloss. (O.E.T.) 1967 Suaeder, butan toðum. c825Vesp. Psalter iii. 8 Toeð synfulra ðu forðræstes. c1000Life Guthlac v. (1848) 34 Heora toþas wæron ᵹelice horses twuxan. c1000Sax. Leechd. III. 104 Oft man smeaþ hwæþer teþ bænene beon. c1200Vices & Virt. 19 Ðar is chiueringe of toðen. a1225Ancr. R. 288 His teð beoð attrie, ase of ane wode dogge. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 206/228 With kene tieth al fuyrie. a1300Cursor M. 19354 For tene þair tethe [v.rr. teþþe, teþ, teth, teeþ] to gnast. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints i. 25 Vith his tetht he wald haf refyn sone. 1390Gower Conf. II. 245 A furgh of lond, in which a-rowe The teth of thaddre he moste sowe. 1483Cath. Angl. 380/2 To drawe oute Tethe, edentare. 1486Bk. St. Albans f vij, A Rage of the teethe. 1552Huloet s.v., Dentosus, full of teath, or hauyng many teath. 1577tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 54 [They] whet their teeth for anger. 1597A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. b iij b/2 These artificialle teethe are sometimes made of Ivorye. 1598Queen Elizabeth Plutarch xv. 3 Whan the think ther handz to slow the ad to ther tithe. 1653Walton Compl. Angler viii. 166 The Carp is..amongst those..fish which..have their teeth in their throat. 1705Vanbrugh Confed. i. iii, There's the woman..that sells paint and patches, iron-bodice, false teeth, and all sorts of things, to the ladies. 1812Examiner 23 Nov. 752/2 Mrs. G. Gatehouse, in the 101st year of her age;..cut her teeth about two years since. 1872Mivart Elem. Anat. vii. (1873) 238 Our teeth are dermal structures..developed from the deeper layer or enderon. 1888Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 115 A..lingual membrane bearing transverse rows of teeth [in the snail]. Ibid. 217 The three muscular jaws..bear at their edges in the medicinal Leech about 80–90 fine chitinoid teeth. Ibid. 348 New teeth in succession to old teeth are either formed without limit of numbers, as in most Pisces, Amphibia, Reptilia, or are restricted to a second set in some Mammalia.
b. spec. An elephant's tusk (projecting upper incisor tooth), as a source of ivory.
c1050Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 397/27 Eburneus dens, elpend toþ. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 73/3 The nauye..brouht..teeth of Olyphauntes. 1533Elyot Cast. Helthe (1539) 70 The olyphantes tothe. 1681R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 21 But few [elephants] have Teeth, and they males onely. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton vi, The ground was scattered with elephants' teeth. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 325 Ivory is everywhere an evil thing... A very common way of collecting a tooth is to kill the person who owns one.
c. In expressions referring to speech (now esp. biting or angry speech).
a1300Cursor M. 13941 Sal yee na leis here o mi toth. 13..Guy Warw. (A.) 4385 Þou lexst amidward þi teþ, & þer-fore haue þou maugreþ. 1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 328 So stammering ‘scoundrel’ out of teeth that ground As in a dreadful dream. Mod. Hissing ‘Traitor!’ through his clenched teeth.
2. fig. or in figurative expressions:
a. referring to eating, esp. to the sense of taste; hence often = taste, liking (cf. palate). See also various phrases in 8.
c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 449, I wol kepe it for youre owene tooth. 1435Misyn Fire of Love 36 My toyth continuly to myrth of songe was chaungyd. 1555Latimer in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) III. App. xxxvi. 103 For all theis things make you the meter for Gods tothe. 1579Lodge Def. Poetry (Hunter. Cl.) 8 Will you haue all for yon owne tothe? 1598Lodge & Greene Looking Glasse G iij, The Smith and the diuel hath a drie tooth in his head. 1615Bp. Hall Contempl., Old Test. xi. vii, A wanton tooth is the harbinger to luxurious wantonnesse. 1634Ibid., N.T. iv. iv, Well did Herodias know, how to fit the tooth of her paramour. 1675Cotton Scoffer Scoft 6 And keep the best o' th' meat (forsooth) For your own Worships dainty tooth! 1704J. Pitts Acc. Mohammetans ix. (1738) 210 He had a great Tooth for the Dey-ship. 1851Beck's Florist Sept. 213 What a tooth for fruit has a monkey!
b. referring to biting or gnawing; hence denoting a hurtful, hostile, destructive, or devouring agency or quality. See also various phrases in III.
1546T. Phaer Bk. Childr. (1553) A ij, It is impossible to auoide the teethe of malicious enuy. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 12 It deserues..A forted residence 'gainst the tooth of time. a1659Osborn Ess. ii. Wks. (1673) 560 Out of fear of the Iron-teeth of the Law. 1742Gray Eton 66 Jealousy with rankling tooth. a1765Young Statesman's Creed, Records that defy the tooth of time. 1816Byron Prisoner of Chillon ii, That iron is a cankering thing, For in these limbs its teeth remain, With marks that will not wear away. 1874D. Gray Poet. Wks. 89 'Tis April, yet the wind retains its tooth.
(b) pl. denoting the ability to compel or enforce, esp. by the exaction of penalties, etc.
1925Country Gentleman 25 July 15/1 How many teeth can you put in a grower's contract of membership with a cooperative marketing association? 1931Week-End Rev. 14 Mar. 380/1 It is even more urgent to take steps which will lead to the success of the Disarmament Conference next February than to ‘give teeth’ to the Paris Peace Pact. 1935Evening Sun (Baltimore) 27 May 13/3 (heading) Coal control bill with teeth studied. 1949Economist 16 Apr. 694/2 It is well that President Truman should have made quite clear, not only that the Atlantic Pact is meant to have teeth in it, but also what sort of teeth. 1963Listener 7 Mar. 432/3 It needed guts to fight a battle against an Establishment with teeth. 1964Daily Tel. 20 Mar. 24 (heading) ‘Teeth’ put in scheme for fair coal sales. 1976Howard Jrnl. XV. i. 29 The Magistrates' Association..asked for an order stronger than a care order to show that ‘in the last resort the law has teeth’.
(c) spec., denoting the combatant personnel of an armed service or military unit. Cf. tail n.1 4 c.
1946,1961[see tail n.1 4 c]. 1962Daily Tel. 26 Sept. 12/2 There is, indeed, room for a ‘teeth’ role for certain units [of the Territorial Army]. 1967M. Ayub Khan Friends, not Masters iv. 45 These changes gave the infantry more teeth and less tail. 1968Listener 25 July 99/3 As for recruiting, the ‘teeth arms’ of the three Services are likely to go on attracting young men of high quality. 1977J. Haines Politics of Power ii. 24 He knew..that the Labour Government's great ‘defence review’ had left a vast area of spending—administrative ‘tail’ as opposed to front-line ‘teeth’—almost untouched and unharmed.
II.
3. transf. A projecting part or point resembling an animal's tooth; esp. one of a row or series of such. a. As an artificial structure, in an implement, machine, etc.; e.g. one of the pointed projections of a comb, saw, file, rake, harrow, fork, etc.; a prong, tine; one of the series of projections on the edge of a wheel, pinion, etc., which engage with corresponding ones on another; a cog.
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §24 If the rake be made of grene woode,..the tethe wyll fall out, whan he hath mooste nede to them. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 106 b, [These] doe more fill the teeth of the Sawe. 1591Percivall Sp. Dict., Pua,..the tooth of a combe. 1611Cotgr. s.v. Allochons, The teeth, or toothing, of a wheele, in a clocke, &c. 1639T. Brugis tr. Camus' Mor. Relat. 169 But iron is never..brighter than when it hath been under the sharp teeth of the file. 1680Moxon Mech. Exerc. x. 189 A great Iron Wheel, having Teeth on its edge. 1793Statist. Acc. Scotl. VIII. 48 The teeth, or wooden pins [of a harrow] must be made long. 1807Robinson Archæol. Græca iv. xv. 412 Anchors were made of iron, and furnished with teeth,..fastening to the bottom of the sea. 1829Nat. Philos. I. Mechanics ii. vii. 27 (Usef. Knowl. Soc.) The cogs on the surface of the wheel are generally called teeth, and those on the surface of the axle are called leaves. 1966B. Malamud Fixer vii. iii. 239 He combed his hair and beard until the teeth of the comb fell out.
b. As a natural structure, in animals, plants, etc.; e.g. the odontoid process of the axis vertebra; a projecting point in the upper mandible of the bill in certain birds (cf. dentiroster); each of a row of small projections on the edge of one valve of the shell in some bivalve molluscs; each of the pointed processes on the margin of leaves or other parts in many plants (cf. dentate), or of those forming the peristome of the capsule in mosses; also, generally, a projecting point of rock, etc.
1694–1815 [see axis1 2]. c1711Petiver Gazophyl. vii. 63 A small rugged Shell... Its Navel small with a Tooth or Knag in the Mouth. 1796Withering Brit. Plants I. 253 Cal[yx]. Cup 1 leaf, concave, but expanding, with 5 teeth, permanent. 1847Carpenter Zool. iv. §361 Its [the upper mandible of a bird of prey] edge is notched, so as to form a kind of projecting tooth on either side. Ibid. xviii. §932 This hinge [in the shell of a bivalve mollusc] is sometimes formed..by a number of little projections or teeth, which fit into corresponding hollows in the opposite valve. 1861Miss Pratt Flower. Plants IV. 88 (Toad-flax)..capsule swollen,..opening by valves or teeth. 1871L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. v. (1894) 125 Great rocky teeth, striking up through their icy covering, like the edge of a saw. 1887J. Ball Nat. in S. Amer. 210 The long stiff leaves, edged with sharp teeth.
c. An accidental jag or uneven projection at the edge of something.
1612Brinsley Lud. Lit. 29 You may make your pen of the best of the quil, & where you see the cleft to be the cleanest, & without teeth.
d. A rough surface on paper, canvas, etc., such as to enable pencil-marks, colours, etc. to adhere; a roughness made by a toothing-plane on surfaces to be glued together, to promote adhesion of the glue. (Only in sing.)
1811Self Instructor 525 The tooth or grain of the paper catching the crayons in dots. 1884Century Mag. XXIX. 205/2 The substance worked upon being commonly rough paper, to the ‘tooth’ or burr of which the color partially adheres. 1894Maskelyne Sharps & Flats 232 [It] is roughened by rubbing it with coarse glass paper. This gives it a kind of ‘tooth’. 1906R. C. Bayley Compl. Photogr. 382 A polished sheet of copper..has its surface treated in some way to give it a very fine grain or tooth... Fine bitumen dust is generally employed.
e. pl. The lower zone of facets in a rose-diamond.
1877in Knight Dict. Mech.
f. pl. fig. A ship's guns. Naut. slang.
1806J. Davis Post-Captain iv. 19 ‘She looks, sir, like a whacking frigate.’ ‘Can you see her teeth?’ ‘Yes, sir; she has a very heavy tire of teeth.’ 1810B. Silliman Jrnl. Trav. (1820) III. 291 The ship had no teeth, as the sailors say, when they mean great guns. 1833Marryat P. Simple xlvi, They were..large schooners,..showing a very good set of teeth. 1849W. S. Mayo Kaloolah ii, There's at least three rows of teeth beneath that mass of spars.
III. Phrases.
4. in the teeth, in (one's) teeth.
a. In direct (local) opposition or attack; in the teeth of, in direct opposition to, so as to face or confront, straight against.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls.) 8404 Our lord..þe smoke þat hii made..Riȝt in hor owe teþ bigan hom euene sende. 1581A. Hall Iliad viii. 138 A Hector, who no lesse desires to meete them in the teeth. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 18 The Wind is right in our teeth. 1737Whiston Josephus, Wars iii. x. § 5 Others..met the enemy in the teeth. 1833L. Ritchie Wand. by Loire 160 They..had run into the teeth of a heavy barge full of armed men. 1892E. Lawless Grania II. 7 He..had run across in the teeth of the rising gale.
b. in the teeth of, in direct and manifest opposition to, in defiance of, in spite of.
1792Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) II. 160 State necessity will be urged in the teeth of policy, humanity, and justice. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxii[i], In no civil case would a counsel have been permitted to plead his client's case in the teeth of the law. 1847L. Hunt Jar Honey x. (1848) 128 Why do you continue to live here, in the teeth of these repeated warnings? 1885Law Times 13 June 113/1 A judge has no right to enter judgment in the teeth of the finding of a jury.
c. in the teeth of, in the presence of, in the face of; usually implying hostility or danger; threateningly confronted by.
1825Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Barbara S., They were in fact in the very teeth of starvation. 1867Parkman Jesuits N. Amer. xxvii. (1875) 381 His post was in the teeth of danger. 1876Blackmore Cripps i, The Carrier scarcely knew what to do in the teeth of so urgent a message.
d. to cast (one) in the teeth with (something), later to cast (a thing) in one's teeth (see cast v. 65), † to hit (one) in the teeth with (obs.), to throw in (one's) teeth: to reproach, upbraid, or censure with; to bring up in reproach against. (In quot. 1596 to throw in (one's) teeth = to send or direct defiantly against: cf. 4 b, 6 b.) Also in similar phrases expressing reproachful or defiant utterance.
1535Coverdale Matt. xxvii. 44 The murtherers also that were crucified with him, cast the same in his tethe. 1548Patten Exped. Scotl. Pref. b iv b, Take it not that I hit you here in the teeths with oure good turnes. 1581G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 147 Some..will not sticke to hit him in the teeth, that he was the sonne of [etc.]. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, v. ii. 42 To Armes, for I haue thrown A braue defiance in King Henries teeth. 1614Day Dyall Ep. Ded., Caius of Cambridge did twit us in the teeth with some of our Founders here in Oxford that had been them⁓selves Cambridge Men. 1619W. Whately God's Husb. ii. (1622) 53 He giueth to all liberally, and hitteth no man in the teeth. 1640Sir W. Boswell in Abp. Ussher's Lett. (1686) App. 27 The main things that they hit in our teeth are, our Bishops to be called Lords. 1694F. Bragge Disc. Parables xiii. 441 This neglect of family-devotions is often thrown in our teeth. 1819Keats Otho iv. ii. 105 In thy teeth I give thee back the lie! 1850Tait's Mag. XVII. 441/2 Perpetually throwing in the teeth of the second wife the unrivalled virtues..of the first.
5. in spite of (despite, maugre, etc.) one's teeth: notwithstanding one's opposition or resistance; in spite of one, in defiance of one. Now rare exc. dial.
c1230Hali Meid. 47 He ȝarkeð þe unþonc hise teð þe blisse & te crune of cristes icorene. 13..K. Alis. 5840 (Bodl. MS.) He..maugre þe teeþ of hem alle Sette his rigge to þe walle. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iii. 86 He putte theym to flight, magre their teeth. 1549Latimer 2nd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 73 A greate man keepeth certaine landes..and wilbe hyr tenaunte in the spite of hyr tethe. 1551Robinson tr. More's Utop. ii. viii. (1895) 260 Spyte of there tethes wrestynge owt of theire handes the sure and vndowbted victory. 1586J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 115/1 Which perforce and maugre of his teeth compelled him to retire with shame. 1586T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1594) 414 Compelling him..to be liberall in despite of his teeth. 1596Danett tr. Comines v. xv. (1614) 169 Constrained them spite of their teeths to depart the towne. 1598R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. iv. ix. (1622) 103 Noble men which maugre thy teeth mount to authority. 1689Hickeringill Ceremony-Monger iii. Wks. 1716 II. 482 Let the People go whistle, they are their Feeders and Pastors in Spight of their Teeths. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iv. vii, [We] will go on with the Lawsuit in spite of John Bull's teeth. 1835Court Mag. VI. 74/2 Pleasing herself before his very eyes, in spite of his teeth.
6. to the teeth.
a. So as to be completely equipped; very fully or completely: in armed to the teeth; so entrenched up to their teeth.
c1380Sir Ferumb. 2707 Þey wern y-armed in-to þe teþ & araid wel for þe fiȝt. 14..Lybeaus Disc. 460 All yarmed to the teth. 1708Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) VI. 328 The French..are intrench't up to their teeth. 1845Ford Handbk. Spain i. xi. 43 Everybody in Spain travels armed to the teeth.
b. to (one's) teeth, to the teeth of: intensive of ‘to one's face’; directly and openly; defiantly; also, so as directly to face, confront, or oppose.
1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 319 Cicero mocked hir to the harde teeth with sembleyng that he graunted hir saiyng [etc.]. 1583B. Melbancke Philotimus L iv b, Though I praise you to your teeth. 1602Shakes. Ham. iv. vii. 57 That I shall liue and tell him to his teeth; Thus diddest thou. 1677W. Hughes Man of Sin iii. iii. 79 Which..plainly gives them the lye unto their Teeths. 1680Otway Caius Marius i. i, Now Romes last Stake of Liberty is set, And must be push'd for to the Teeth of Fortune. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier ii. 189 The Foot.., coming close up to the Teeth of one another.., fought with great Resolution.
c. So as to be utterly committed; up to the teeth: heavily involved or absorbed.
1934T. E. Lawrence Let. 8 June (1938) 805 At the moment we are all up to the teeth in 5 more target boats. 1974Spartanburg (S. Carolina) Herald 25 Apr. a11/6 A young farmer who is starting out and he's mortgaged to the teeth at the bank would not look at it the same way.
d. fed (up) to the (back) teeth: see fed pa. pple.
7. a. tooth and nail (orig. with tooth and nail), advb. phr.: lit. with the use of one's teeth and nails as weapons; by biting and scratching: almost always fig., in the way of vigorous attack, defence, or action generally; vigorously, fiercely, with one's utmost efforts, with all one's might.
1534More Comf. agst. Trib. iii. xxii. (1573) 193 They would faine kepe them as long as euer they might, euen with tooth and naile. 1562Winȝet Cert. Tract. Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 16 Contending with tuith and naill (as in the prouerb). 1568V. Skinner tr. Montanus' Inquisition 46 b, To perswade them tooth and naile, not to cleaue vnto that doctrine. 1579W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Love 51 M. Harding fighteth for it tooth and nail. 1651Culpepper Astrol. Judgem. Dis. (1658) 118 He will helpe it forward with tooth and naile. 1692L'Estrange Josephus, Antiq. xv. xi. (1733) 413 Salome and her Faction were Tooth and Nail for dispatching her out of Hand. 1719D'Urfey Pills IV. 156 She flew in her Face Tooth and Nail. 1827Scott Jrnl. 26 July, To-morrow I resume the Chronicles, tooth and nail. 1892Huxley in Life (1900) II. xviii. 312, I am ready to oppose any such project tooth and nail.
attrib.1872B. Jerrold London xiv. 116 Honourable instinct making a tooth-and-nail fight against adverse circumstances. 1900Century Mag. Feb. 509/1 The tooth-and-nail fight to which they and their children were condemned.
†b. So with teeth and all. Obs.
a1600Hooker Eccl. Pol. viii. vi. §2 Even with teeth and all they that favour the papal throne must hold the contrary.
8. Various phrases.
† a. to have the teeth cold, to have cold at the teeth, to suffer hunger, go hungry (obs.). b. from the teeth forward(s or outward(s (also simply from one's teeth, and ellipt. teeth outward(s), formally or feignedly, in profession but not in reality (opp. to from the heart). † c. to hide one's teeth, fig. to conceal malice or hostile intention under a show of friendliness (opp. to to show one's teeth) (obs.). † d. to love the tooth, to be fond of eating, to be an epicure (obs.). e. to set one's teeth, to press or clench one's teeth firmly together from indignation, or fixed resolution as in facing danger, opposition, or difficulty; hence fig. or allusively; see also set v.1 95. f. to show one's teeth, lit. to uncover the teeth by withdrawing the lips from them, esp. as a beast in readiness for biting or attack; usu. fig. to show hostility or malice, to behave in a threatening way. g. the teeth water, a variant of the mouth waters: see mouth n. 2 c (? obs.). h. to get one's teeth into, to become engrossed in; to come to grips with, to begin serious work on.
a.1484Caxton Fables of æsop ii. xv, Suche weren fayre gownes and fayr gyrdels of gold that haue theyr teeth cold at home. Ibid. iv. xvii, He that werketh not..shal haue ofte at his teeth grete cold.
b.1570–6Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 420 They met..and from the teeth forwarde departed good friends againe. 1588J. Udall Diotrephes (Arb.) 27 Manye of them like vs but from the teeth outwarde. 1647Lilly Chr. Astrol. lxxxviii. 459 They love not [one another], or but teeth outward. 1815J. Hogg Let. 28 Feb., in Lockhart Scott xxxvi, To be friends from the teeth forwards is common enough.
c.1714T. Ellwood in Life 230 The Goaler..hid his Teeth,..putting on a shew of Kindness.
d.1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 543 Meates..greatly sought for by these that love the tooth so well.
e.1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. i. 15 Now set the Teeth, and stretch the Nosthrill wide. 1672Dryden Marriage-à-la-Mode Epil. 28 You..set your teeth when each design fell short. 1823Scott Quentin D. xxxii, ‘If this should prove truth’, said the Duke, setting his teeth, and pressing his heel against the ground. 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede xxxvii, She set her teeth when she thought of Arthur: she cursed him. 1870Morris Earthly Par. II. iii. 350 Her teeth were set hard, and her brow was knit.
f.1615J. Chamberlain in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 361 It were to no purpose to show our teeth unless we could bite. 1710O. Sansom Acc. Life 330 He somewhat appeared at the Sessions at Wantage; shewing his Teeth in what he could; and thereby discovering what lodged in his Heart against us. 1742Young Love Fame i. 17 When the law shews her teeth, but dares not bite. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. i. i, Such Patriotism as snarls dangerously and shows teeth.
g.1600Holland Livy vii. xxx. 269 At it their teeth water, that most goodly and beautifull cittie will they either destroy, or be LL. thereof themselves. 1698Farquhar Love & Bottle v. i, Oh, my little green gooseberry, my teeth waters at ye! 1724Littleton Lat. Dict. (ed. 5) s.v., It makes my teeth water. Salivam mihi movet. [1879: see teeth-watering in 9 b.]
h.1935D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night i. 23 If one could work here steadily..getting one's teeth into something dull and durable. 1961B. Fergusson Watery Maze vi. 140 American eagerness to get their teeth into the enemy. 1983G. Mitchell Cold, Lone, & Still x. 111 He's not the man to let go while he's got his teeth into a suspect.
i. For other phrases see the words involved, as
to take the bit in one's teeth (bit n.1 8 d), to carry a bone in the teeth (bone n. 14 b), colt's tooth (colt n. 8), to cut one's teeth (cut v. 39), to set the teeth on edge (edge n. 4), to grind one's teeth (grind v.1 10), to have the run of one's teeth (run n. 32 b), long in the tooth (long a.1 1 c), by or with the skin of one's teeth (skin n. 6 g), a sweet tooth (sweet a.). For to lie in one's teeth, see 1 c.
9. a. attrib. and Comb., as tooth-dint, tooth-dye, tooth-extraction, tooth-point, tooth-stainer, tooth-stump; tooth-bred, tooth-chattering, tooth-extracting, tooth-like, tooth-setting, tooth-shaped, tooth-tempting adjs.; with many others of obvious meaning. Special combs.: tooth-axe, ‘a stone-cutters' axe the edges of which are divided into blunt teeth’ (Cent. Dict. Suppl.); tooth-back, a moth of the family Notodontidæ, or its larva, which has a tooth-like prominence on the back; so tooth-backed a.; tooth-bearer = odontophore; † tooth-blanch, a substance for whitening the teeth, a dentifrice; tooth-block, a block forming part of a machine for moulding in sand the iron teeth of a gear-wheel; tooth-bone, (a) = dentine; (b) the bony substance or ‘cement’ of the teeth; tooth-chisel, a chisel with a toothed or serrated cutting edge, used by stone-masons; tooth-cleaner, a machine for dressing and finishing the teeth of cog-wheels (Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 1884); tooth-comb, (a) a small-tooth comb; usu. in fig. use; also attrib. and as v. trans., to investigate minutely; cf. fine-tooth a.; (b) Zool., a group of procumbent lower front teeth found in tree shrews and lemurs; tooth-coralline = sertularia; tooth-cress = toothwort 3; tooth-doctor, a dentist; tooth-edge, the sensation of having the teeth ‘set on edge’ (see edge n. 4); tooth fairy, a fairy believed by children to take away milk teeth and leave a small sum of money; also transf.; tooth-fern, a rendering of Odontopteris, a genus of fossil ferns; tooth-fever, fever accompanying teething; tooth-flower, a name for Dentella repens, a small creeping herb found in Australia, Polynesia, etc., having a tooth-like process on each petal of the flower; tooth-forceps, a forceps used by a dentist for extracting teeth; tooth-germ, the ‘germ’ or growth of tissue from which a tooth is developed; tooth-glass, (a) (see quot. 1858); (b) a glass used to hold false teeth; † tooth-iron, ? an instrument for extracting teeth; tooth-ivory = dentine; † tooth-key, a dentist's instrument, turned like a key, formerly used for extracting teeth; tooth-mark, a mark made by a tooth in biting, or transf. by an edged tool; so tooth-marked a.; tooth-mill, a dentist's drill-stock or drilling-machine; tooth-mug = tooth-glass (b); tooth ornament Arch., a kind of ornament or moulding suggesting a tooth or teeth: = dog-tooth 3; † tooth-pain = toothache; tooth-paste, a paste used for cleaning the teeth; freq. attrib. in tooth-paste tube; also in fig. phr. to put the toothpaste back in the tube, illustrating the futility of trying to restore a stable state of affairs in the light of subsequent events; tooth-plane = toothing-plane; tooth-plate (Dentistry) = plate n. 4 f; tooth-plugger, an instrument for filling or stopping decayed teeth (Knight 1884); tooth-powder, a powder used for cleaning the teeth, a dentifrice; also attrib., as tooth-powder box; † tooth-proof a., having teeth of tried strength or efficiency (cf. proof a. 1); tooth-puller, one who extracts teeth; tooth-pulling, extraction of a tooth or teeth; tooth-pulp, the soft cellular tissue around which the hard parts of a tooth are developed, and which fills the cavity of the fully formed tooth; tooth-rail, a tramway rail having teeth or cogs; tooth-rake, † (a) a toothpick (obs.); (b) a rake with teeth; tooth-rash, an eruptive disease incident to infants when teething; tooth-ribbon, the lingual ribbon or odontophore of certain molluscs; tooth-root = toothwort 3; tooth-sac, a sac or hollow structure of connective tissue, within which a tooth is developed; tooth-saw (Dentistry), a fine frame-saw for sawing off portions of the teeth (Knight 1877); † tooth-scrape (obs.), tooth-scraper, an instrument for scraping the teeth, as a toothpick, or a dentist's instrument; tooth-set a., set with teeth, having tooth-like projections; † tooth-shaken a., having the teeth loosened, as by age; tooth-soap, a preparation for cleaning the teeth; tooth-stick, † (a) a dentifrice in shape of a stick; (b) a stick used for cleaning the teeth; tooth(ed)-violet = toothwort 3; tooth-wark (now dial.) [cf. head-wark], toothache (cf. teeth-work in 9 b); tooth wash, a liquid dentifrice; tooth-wheel, a wheel with teeth, a toothed wheel, cog-wheel; tooth-winged a., having the wings toothed or notched on the outer margin, as certain butterflies; tooth-work, (a) ornamental work resembling teeth; (b) work done with the teeth, i.e. eating (nonce-use); tooth-wound, a wound inflicted by the tooth of an animal (cf. teeth-wound in 9 b); † tooth-wrest: see quot. See also tooth-brush, -pick, -shell, etc.
1872Wood Insects at Home 470 A family of Moths called Notodontidæ, or *Tooth-backs.
1585Higins Junius' Nomenclator 260/2 Dentifricium,..tooth powder: tooth sope, or *tooth blanch.
1857Dunglison Med. Lex. s.v. Tooth, The ivory of the tooth or Dentine,..proper tooth substance, bone of the tooth, osseous substance of tooth, *tooth bone. 1878T. Bryant Pract. Surg. I. 557 The portion of the case that forms the root or roots is covered by ‘crusta petrosa’ or tooth-bone.
1642A. Ross Mel Heliconium (1643) 68 And then the Dragon, he did wound And all his *toothbread sonnes confound.
1887Rider Haggard Allan Quaterm. 73 A *tooth-chattering cook. 1889Stevenson Master of B. 80 Alone..in this tooth-chattering desert.
1893Westm. Gaz. 24 Apr. 4/3 The force was a mere *toothcomb in the face of the rioters. 1902Sat. Rev. 1 Nov. 556/1 The rake with which Mr. Nield gathers together his authors is a very tooth-comb. 1918Daily Chron. 25 Jan. 3/7 The Army behind the front is being tooth-combed of all men fit for the fighting line. 1924Glasgow Herald 28 Aug. 4/2 She was a strong woman, well accustomed to ‘toothcomb’ her husband's MS. 1931Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Oct. 749/3 Whatever the ‘tooth-combs’ of Dr. Hotson's fellow-scholars may leave of it, he must be congratulated on his discovery. 1958N.Y. Times Mag. 6 Apr. 68/4 The three officers start their own toothcomb check of their huge ship. 1962Amer. Jrnl. Physical Anthropol. XX. 128/1 The closely spaced incisors [of lemurs] seem to scrape the fur rather than comb it. The use of the term ‘tooth comb’ may be, therefore, objectionable. 1972Times Lit. Suppl. 11 Aug. 946/1 A novel which has been picked over with toothcombs, in search of clues to ‘The Mystery’. 1977Listener 7 Apr. 442/1 Decides whether the bid is contentious enough to be toothcombed by the mergers panel. 1980J. Gardner Garden of Weapons i. xi. 110 The four men and one woman trained after a toothcomb selection. 1981Times 16 Feb. 14/4 Tooth combs are found today in tree shrews..as well as in the lemurs and lorises.
1873Dawson Earth & Man iv. 73 The Sertulariæ or *tooth-corallines.
1863–79Prior Brit. Pl., *Tooth-cress, or Tooth-Violet,..Dentaria bulbifera.
1767S. Paterson Another Trav. I. 300 'Tis the celebrated *tooth-doctor—he takes out your old teeth without any pain.
1884C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts Ser. iii. 312/1 Adding to crude or branch lacquer, about 5 per cent. of the *tooth dye (haguro) used by women.
1794E. Darwin Zoon. I. iii. 22 The disagreeable sensation called the *tooth-edge.
1898P. Manson Trop. Diseases iv. 89 In such patients..*tooth extraction..may prove a dangerous matter.
1977Age (Melbourne) 18 Jan. 15/5 Who do you suppose pays for the $50 billion difference? The *tooth fairy? Hardly. You do. 1977Rolling Stone 7 Apr. 45/4 Anyone who thinks they acted alone must also believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. 1978J. Hyams Pool xi. 163 Alan had ceased to believe in miracles at about the same age he stopped believing in the Tooth Fairy.
1867W. W. Smyth Coal & Coal-mining 37 The Odontopteris, or *tooth-fern.
1788C. Smith Emmeline (1816) IV. 179 The child was very ill once with a *tooth-fever.
1884Miller Plant-n., *Tooth-flower, Australian, Dentella repens.
1844Dufton Deafness 91 A pair of *tooth-forceps was..employed.
1841Penny Cycl. XX. 460/2 The number of successive *tooth-germs..behind the..functional teeth.
1858P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products 384/2 *Tooth-glass, a toilet water-glass for washing the mouth. 1915Kipling Diversity of Creatures (1917) 411 That plate of the four lower ones in the blue tooth-glass. 1978G. Greene Human Factor v. iii. 286 The toothglasses were swathed in plastic.
1483Cath. Angl. 398/1 A *Tuthe yren, dentaria.
1851Mantell Petrifact. iii. §5. 255 The central body of dentine or *tooth-ivory.
1827N. Arnott Physics I. 247 The *tooth-key is an instrument found in many hands.
1835–6Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 312/1 A *tooth-like process on either side [of the bill]. 1839Bailey Festus ix. (1852) 99 The toothlike aching ruin of the body.
1889C. C. R. Up for the Season, etc. 53 A *tooth-mark left me by her black-and-tan.
1831E. J. Trelawny Adv. Younger Son I. 52 Buttered toast, half eaten, and *tooth-marked.
1879Thomson & Tait Nat. Phil. I. i. §109 The dentist's *tooth-mill is an..illustration of the elastic universal flexure joint.
1891Outing (U.S.) Dec. 244/2 Some drank their champagne out of *tooth mugs. 1935Discovery Apr. 114/1 To this communal tooth-mug débris and food particles get transferred. 1979A. Morice Murder in Outline ix. 77 Why not repair to..our room, where tooth mugs abound, and push the boat out?
1840Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. III. 2/1 A narrow lancet opening, having the *tooth ornament in the hollow surrounding the same.
1592Chettle Kinde-harts Dr. (1841) 30 The only remedy for the *tooth paine, either to haue patience, or to pull them out.
1832Amer. Railroad Jrnl. I. 607/3 (Advt.), Seidlitz powders, chloride of soda, chlorine *tooth paste. 1857Dunglison Med. Lex., T[ooth] Paste, Dentifricium. 1966A. Sachs Jail Diary vi. 62, I get up off the floor, fetch my toothpaste-tube. 1975Listener 9 Jan. 44/3 Haldeman says to him: ‘John, you ought to think about that, because once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it is awfully hard to put it back again.’ 1978F. King Action xxxi. 105 Pinching at an exhausted toothpaste tube.
1823P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 246 The *Tooth-plane is fitted with a blade or iron, on the steel side of it covered with rakes or small grooves.
1880M. Mackenzie Dis. Throat & Nose I. 411 Teeth, real or artificial, or *toothplates, become loosened during sleep.
1542Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VIII. 89 Ane stoppell to keip the kingis grace *twithe pulder. 1823J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 25 As a tooth-powder, nothing can exceed the virtues of charcoal.
1654Gayton Pleas. Notes iii. v. 101 The..more crusty meats fell to Sancho's share, who was *tooth-proofe.
1839J. Brown Lett. (1907) 46 A good *tooth-puller can pull with any key or claw.
1850Thackeray Pendennis lxi, No more than *tooth-pulling, or any other pang, eternal.
1854R. Owen Skel. & Teeth in Orr's Circ. Sc. I. Org. Nat. 265 The primary basis of the tooth, called ‘*tooth-pulp’.
1862Smiles Engineers III. 85 Mr. Blenkinsop of Leeds, in 1811, took out a patent for a racked or *tooth-rail.
1585Higins Junius' Nomenclator 260/2 Dentiscalpium... Curedent. A tooth scraper, or *tooth-rake. c1830Pract. Treat. Roads 17 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, Scratching it [the surface], with a tooth-rake regularly all over, as occasion requires.
1818–20E. Thompson Cullen's Nosol. Method. (ed. 3) 321 Strophulus confertus, sometimes called the rank red gum and the *tooth rash.
1883J. G. Wood in Gd. Words Sept. 603/2 The still more curious ‘*tooth-ribbon’ set with its hundreds of hooked toothlets.
1818*Tooth-root [see dentaria].
1890Billings Nat. Med. Dict., *Tooth-sac, connective-tissue structure enclosing the dentine germ and enamel-organ in the fœtal development of the teeth.
1552Huloet, *Tothscrape instrument, dentiscalpium.
1585*Tooth-scraper [see tooth-rake]. 1860Mayne Expos. Lex., Tooth-scraper.
1860Artist & Craftsman 125 The *toothset edge of those eternal hills.
1650Bulwer Anthropomet. 140 Tooth-drawers and *Tooth-setting Chyrurgions.
1549Chaloner Erasm. on Folly F ij, Wrincled, *totheshaken..so desyrous yet of life. 1674J. Josselyn Voy. New Eng. 185 The Women are pittifully Tooth-shaken.
1837P. Keith Bot. Lex. 292 Peristomium..consists of a circular and double row of fine and *tooth-shaped substances.
1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 401 That excellent powder, for the scowring and clensing of the teeth called *Tooth-soap.
1762Goldsm. Cit. W. iii, Your nose-borers, feet-swathers, *tooth-stainers, eye-brow-pluckers.
1729MS. Accounts in N. & Q. 7th Ser. VII. 30/1 Disbursed at London..a silver *tooth-stick, 8d. 1859R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. in Jrnl. Geog. Soc. XXIX. 323 Some of the more civilized have learned..to use a toothstick.
1862Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. ii. No. 3533, Improved *tooth-stump instrument.
1634Fowldes Homer's Batt. Frogs & Mice B v, No *tooth-tempting fare.
1863–79*Tooth-Violet [see tooth-cress].
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxii. (Laurentius) 567 A man sa disesyt..Of *tuth-wark.
1871‘Mark Twain’ in Galaxy Aug. 284/2 He tendered me a *tooth-wash atrocity of his own invention. 1895Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 716/2 Tooth-wash. 1949E. Pound Pisan Cantos lxxx. 104 Pepitone was wasting toothwash.
1862Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. xii. 2 A series of shaftings and *tooth-wheels.
1891Cent. Dict., *Tooth-winged.
1681Grew Musæum i. vi. i. 133 The ridges also of the rounds are wrought with *Tooth-Work.
1899Syd. Soc. Lex., *T[ooth] wounds, wounds inflicted by the teeth of animals which do not owe their gravity to poison, but to the laceration of the tissues.
1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), *Tooth-wrest, an Instrument to draw, or pull out Teeth.
b. Combs. with the pl. teeth (most of which have corresponding forms in tooth-: see above), as teeth-ache (= toothache), teeth-brush (= toothbrush), teeth-chatter, teeth-chattering n. and adj., teeth-dints (double pl. of tooth-dint), teeth-edging adj. (setting the teeth on edge), teeth-filing, teeth-gnashing n. and adj., teeth-grinding adj., teeth-like adj., teeth-mark, teeth-plate, teeth-pulps (double pl. of tooth-pulp), teeth-ridge, teeth-watering (cf. phr. the teeth water in 8 g), † teeth-wind (? a wind meeting one in the teeth), † teeth-work (= tooth-wark), teeth-wound.
1890P. H. Emerson Wild Life xxii. 96 For *teeth-ache we rub the inside wi' rum.
1651Verney Mem. (1894) III. 39 A gift of the new Paris luxury—‘the *Teeth Brushes and boxes’. 1751Smollett Per. Pic. (1779) III. lxxx. 63 Waiting-women..who clean your teeth-brushes.
1834Tait's Mag. I. 43/2 He has managed to get up a masterly *teeth-chatter.
1796Coleridge Blossom 1st Feb. 3 This dark..*teeth-chattering month. 1887Rider Haggard Allan Quaterm. 91 He nearly aroused the Masai camp with teeth-chattering.
1839Bailey Festus xviii. (1852) 241 The foul fiend's *teeth-dints may be seen.
1603Florio Montaigne ii. xii. (1632) 336 That sharp, harsh, and *teethedging noise that Smiths make in filing of brasse.
1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 477 The *teeth-filing I think undoubtedly does arise from this.
a1711Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 90 *Teeth-gnashing Envy at the Saints above.
1642A. Ross Mel Heliconium (1643) 175 *Teeth-grinding anger, with fierce-glowing eyes. 1969Fabian & Byrne Groupie (1970) xxvi. 173 Teeth-grinding teenagers from Muswell Hill picking you up in Cortinas.
1884W. S. B. McLaren Spinning (ed. 2) 6 Seeing the *teeth-like edges which thus catch the fingers.
1898R. Blakeborough Wit, etc. N. Riding Yorks. 202 *Teeth-marks were found on..part of their body. 1900Edin. Rev. Apr. 362 Their works bear the teethmark of their own age.
1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 346 A badly fitting artificial *teeth-plate.
1859J. Tomes Dental Surg. (1873) 4 The depth of these bony cells is only sufficient to contain the developing teeth and *teeth-pulps.
1928I. C. Ward Phonetics of English xiii. 117 T and d before r are articulated on the teeth, not on the *teeth-ridge. 1966J. Derrick Teaching Eng. to Immigrants iii. 127 The tip or blade (i.e. the very front part) of the tongue is just behind the upper gums (‘the teeth ridge’), i.e. towards the front of the mouth.
1879Calderwood Mind & Br. 273 That result known as ‘*teeth-watering’, which may be described as a reminiscence of taste.
a1732T. Boston Crook in Lot (1863) 45 What a sad thing must it then be to lose this *teeth-wind for Immanuel's land!
c1440Thornton MS. lf. 176 (E.E.T.S.) A charme for þe *tethe worke.
1856Kane Arct. Expl. II. xv. 164 Five were scarred by direct *teeth-wounds of bears.
▪ II. tooth, v.|tuːθ|
Forms: see prec.
[f. prec.]
1. intr. To develop, grow, or ‘cut’ teeth; to teethe. ? Obs.
c1410Master of Game vii. (1904) 32/1 Þei tothen [pr. tochen; MS. Digby 182 teth] ii tymes in þe yere whan þei be whelpes. c1440–1796 [see toothing 1].
2. trans. To furnish or supply with teeth; to fit or fix teeth into; to cut teeth in or upon, to indent.
1483Cath. Angl. 398/1 To Tuthe, dentare. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §24 Than maye he..tothe the rakes with drye wethy wode. 1611Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 196 Making thre huckes and toothing nyne sicles, xvd. 1745Arderon in Phil. Trans. XLIV. 170, I toothed two Pieces of Brass..to fit each other. 1833,1884[see toothing 3. See also toothed].
3. To exercise the teeth upon; to bite, gnaw. Also absol.
1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 19 The Syracusans vsed such varietie of dishes..they were many times in doubt, which they shoulde touth first, or taste last. 1858H. W. Beecher Life Th. (1859) 32 The pragmatic prophecy-monger and the swinish utilitarian have toothed its fruits and craunched its blossoms. 1871R. Ellis Catullus xxiii. 4 Each for penury fit to tooth a flint-stone.
4. To fit or fix into something by projections like teeth, or in the manner of teeth.
a. trans.
[1672: cf. toothing 2 b.] 1703T. N. City & C. Purchaser 51 'Tis common to Tooth in the stretching Course 2 Inches with the Stretcher only. 1793W. H. Marshall W. England (1796) II. 341 By toothing the one into the other..the whole settles..into one corporate mass. 1888Law Rep., Weekly Notes 77/1 The defendant..might use it..by putting a lean-to against it, or by toothing a door support into it.
b. intr. for pass. To interlock.
1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 260 Whereas if the Header of one side of the Wall, toothed as much as the Stretcher on the other side, it would be a stronger Toothing. 1865Masson Rec. Brit. Philos. 321 The one [mind] might have a conviction that it toothed at some points into the independent constitution of the other [matter]. |
