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tusk¹

(tŭsk)

1. An elongated pointed tooth, usually one of a pair, extending outside of the mouth in certain animals such as the walrus, elephant, or wild boar.

2. A long projecting tooth or toothlike part.

tr. & intr.v. tusked, tusk·ing, tusks

To gore or dig with the tusks or a tusk.

[Middle English tux, tusce, from Old English tūx, tūsc, canine tooth; see dent- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

tusked adj.

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tusk1

of an African elephant

tusk²

(tŭsk)

See cusk.

[Of North Germanic origin; akin to dialectal Norwegian tosk and Faroese toskur, cod, both from Old Norse thorskr; see ters- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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