mastodon
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also Mastodon
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English [edit]
Alternative forms [edit]
Etymology [edit]
First attested 1813, from the New Latin genus name Mastodon (1806), coined by Georges Cuvier, from Ancient Greek μαστός (mastos, “breast”) + ὀδούς (odous, “tooth”), from the similarity of the mammilloid projections on the crowns of the extinct mammal's molars.
Noun [edit]
mastodon (plural mastodons)
- Extinct elephant-like mammal of the genus Mammut that flourished worldwide from Miocene through Pleistocene times; differs from elephants and mammoths in the form of the molar teeth.
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
extinct elephant-like mammal of the genus Mammut
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