Heterodont

//ˈhɛtəɹəʊdɒnt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A heterodont animal.

    "[A]mongst heterodonts there are several Rodents which have no deciduous teeth, e.g., the rat; […] Among Marsupials, which are true heterodonts, there is only one milk molar on each side in each jaw; […]"

  2. 2
    A heterodont animal.; A heterodont bivalve.

    "Ordovician actinodontoids are probably ancestral to the heterodonts, unionaceans, and trigoniaceans."

  3. 3
    A snake of the genus Heterodon which is native to North America.

    "The second suborder (Macrosformes) corresponds with the Heteroderms of M. André Marie Constant Duméril. These are divided into seven families: […] 4. the Heterodonts, (Dendrophis, Coronella, &c.); […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Having teeth of different types (like most mammals). not-comparable

    ""On the Homologies and Notation of the Teeth of Mammalia," by W[illiam] H[enry] Flower, F.R.S. […] The classification and special homologies of the teeth of the heterodont mammals was next discussed."

  2. 2
    Of bivalves or their hinge teeth: having two to three wedge-shaped cardinal teeth set in the centre near the umbones, generally also with elongated lateral teeth on the anterior and posterior margins. not-comparable

    "The heterodont arrangement is characteristic of the Venus clams and cockles."

Example

More examples

""On the Homologies and Notation of the Teeth of Mammalia," by W[illiam] H[enry] Flower, F.R.S. […] The classification and special homologies of the teeth of the heterodont mammals was next discussed."

Etymology

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.

Related phrases

north american

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.