| 释义 |
wisdom tooth
[Usually pl.; orig. teeth of wisdom, rendering mod.L. dentes sapientiæ, = Arab. aḍrāsu 'lḥikmi (f. ḍirs tooth, ḥikm wisdom), after Gr. σωϕρονιστῆρες (Hippocrates): so called as not appearing till the attainment of years of discretion.]
The hindmost molar tooth on each side of both upper and lower jaws in man, usually ‘cut’ about the age of twenty. Often in phr. to cut one's wisdom teeth, to attain to wisdom or discretion.[1668Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. Man. iv. xiii. 349 The two last are termed Dentes Sapientiæ, the Teeth of Wisedom. 1771J. S. tr. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (ed. 4) Dict. Cc 8 b, Sophronesteres, the..Teeth of Wisdom. 1809Malkin Gil Blas x. x. ⁋32 The gamester, finding that I had cut my teeth of wisdom sooner than suited his purpose.] 1848Quain's Elem. Anat. (ed. 5) II. 971 The last molar in each range, owing to its late appearance through the gums, is called the wisdom-tooth. 1863Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. xxi, He's noane cut his wisdom-teeth yet. 1868G. J. Whyte-Melville White Rose III. 205 It seems..they're all born with their wisdom-teeth cut and their whiskers growed. 1872L. P. Meredith Teeth (1878) 49 The wisdom teeth occasionally erupt as late as the fortieth or fiftieth year. |