mastodon

mas·to·don

 (măs′tə-dŏn′) also mas·to·dont (-dŏnt′)

n.

Any of several very large, extinct proboscidian mammals of the family Mammutidae of the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene Epochs, resembling elephants but having molar teeth of a different structure.

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[New Latin Mastodōn, genus name : Greek mastos, breast, nipple + Greek odōn, tooth (from the nipple-shaped protrusions on the crowns of its molars); see dent- in Indo-European roots.]

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mas′to·don′ic adj.

mastodon

(ˈmæstəˌdɒn) or

mastodont

n

1. (Palaeontology) any extinct elephant-like proboscidean mammal of the genus Mammut (or Mastodon), common in Pliocene times

2. (Animals) any extinct elephant-like proboscidean mammal of the genus Mammut (or Mastodon), common in Pliocene times

[C19: from New Latin, literally: breast-tooth, referring to the nipple-shaped projections on the teeth]

ˌmastoˈdontic adj

mas•to•don

(ˈmæs təˌdɒn)

n.

any of numerous extinct elephantlike mammals of the Oligocene through Pleistocene epochs, esp. of the genus Mastodon (formerly Mammut), distinguished from true elephants by their tooth structure. Compare mammoth (def. 1).

[1805–15; < New Latin < Greek mast(ós) breast + -odṓn -toothed]

mas·to·don

(măs′tə-dŏn′)

Any of several extinct mammals similar to elephants and mammoths except in the shape of their molar teeth. Like elephants, mastodons had a pair of long, curved tusks growing from their upper jaw, but they also sometimes had a second pair from the lower jaw. They lived from the Oligocene Epoch to the end of the Ice Age.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

mastodon - extinct elephant-like mammal that flourished worldwide from Miocene through Pleistocene times; differ from mammoths in the form of the molar teeth mastodont proboscidean, proboscidian - massive herbivorous mammals having tusks and a long trunk genus Mammut, genus Mastodon, Mammut - extinct type genus of the Mammutidae: mastodons American mastodon, American mastodont, Mammut americanum - mastodon of North America; in some classifications considered a mammoth rather than a mastodon

Translations

Mastodon

mastodonte

mastodon

[ˈmæstədən] N → mastodonte m

mastodon

n → Mastodon nt