tusk

Meaning

Noun

1. One of a pair of elongated pointed teeth that extend outside the mouth of an animal such as walrus, elephant or wild boar, and which continue to grow throughout the animal's life.
2. A small projection on a (tusk) tenon.
3. A tusk shell.
4. A projecting member like a tenon, and serving the same or a similar purpose, but composed of several steps, or offsets, called teeth.
5. A sharp point.
6. The share of a plough.

Verb

1. To dig up using a tusk, as boars do.
2. To gore with the tusks.
3. (obsolete) To bare or gnash the teeth.

Synonyms

fang

ivory

horn

tooth

🦷

canine teeth

canine tooth

tush

large tooth

detusk

cuspid

proscription

torsk

tusks

veto

vindication

prohibition

elephant tusk

brosmius

bicuspid

elephant’s tooth

canine

cusk

defence

disallowance

dogtooth

excuse

incisor

justification

prong

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtʌsk/

Etymology

From Middle English tusk (also tux, tusch), from Old English tūx, tūsc (“canine tooth, tusk, molar”), from Proto-West Germanic *tų̄sk, *tunsk, from Proto-Germanic *tunþskaz (“canine tooth”), extended form of *tanþs (“tooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts (“tooth”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tusk (“tooth”), West Frisian tosk (“tooth”), Icelandic toskur (“a tusk, tooth”) (whence the Old Norse and Icelandic Ratatoskr and Ratatoskur respectively), Gothic 𐍄𐌿𐌽𐌸𐌿𐍃 (tunþus, “tooth”) and *𐍄𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹 (*tundi, “thorn, tooth”). Doublet of tush. More at tooth.