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masticatory. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
masticatory, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
masticatory in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From Latin mastico + -atory, the former borrowed from Ancient Greek μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “I gnash the teeth”), from μάσταξ (mástax, “that with which one chews”).
Pronunciation
Noun
masticatory (plural masticatories)
- (chiefly medicine) Something chewed, originally as a medicine, now typically for pleasure or to increase the flow of saliva.
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: , 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 5, member 1, subsection iv:Sneezing, masticatories, and nasals are generally received.
Adjective
masticatory (not comparable)
- Of, or relating to mastication.
- Used for chewing.
Derived terms
References