Definition of dentary in English:
dentary
nounPlural dentaries ˈdɛnt(ə)riˈdɛn(t)əri
Zoology The anterior bone of the lower jaw which bears the teeth. In mammals it forms the whole of the lower jaw (or mandible).
Example sentencesExamples
- Associated remains found with this skeleton consist of acid - etched vertebrae and a fragmentary dentary from juvenile hadrosaur dinosaurs.
- Even at first glance, the shape of the four-inch-long bone and the linear arrangement of tooth sockets told us that this was a dentary, or tooth-bearing portion of a lower jaw.
- Mammals are unique among extant vertebrates in possessing a lower jaw formed by a single bony element, the dentary.
- During mammalian evolution, the lower jaw became just one bone, the dentary, with the articular no longer attached to the lower jaw.
- This tusk may be associated with the left dentary of the old animal.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from late Latin dentarius, from Latin dens, dent- 'tooth'.