dentifrice
/ˈdɛntɪfrɪs
/noun
A paste or powder for cleaning the teeth: here’s a dentifrice with real action...
- They washed their teeth and cleaned them with tooth powders (dentifrices).
- Some forms of tobacco dentifrice include roasted and powdered tobacco, a paste made of tobacco and molasses, and a rinse of tobacco water (made by passing tobacco smoke through water).
- Women in the state of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, commonly use mishri (pyrolysed and powdered tobacco), and its initial use is as a dentifrice.
Origin
Late Middle English: from French, from Latin dentifricium, from dens, dent- 'tooth' + fricare 'to rub'.