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Glite Dictionary
incisal

incisal

1 8.8
About the cutting edge of the front teeth
  • adjective
  • /ɪnˈseɪsəl/
  • Specialized
: incisal
  • When we studied the anatomy of teeth, we focused on the incisal surfaces for better understanding.

Examples

  • The orthodontist recommended a treatment that would improve the alignment of the incisal plane.

  • Although (preferably) a connector area of 4x4mm was targeted, if the linguo-vestibular portion had to be reduced, it was permitted to enlarge the incisal-cervical portion.

    Academic text (2016)

  • The dentist pointed out the incisal edges of the patient's front teeth during the examination.

Surface Forms

incisal positive

Morphology

incisal = incise (semi-transparent) = incise + al

The adjective is built from the cut-related base 'incise' plus '-al', but the dental specialization and Latin-style form make the meaning only partly predictable.

Etymology

Incisal comes from the Latin root incis- and incidere, which mean 'to cut', and it is the same root you see in incisor. So incisal means the 'cutting' edge of the front teeth, the part of an incisor that bites or cuts food.