Dent (dnt), n. [A variant of Dint.] 1. A stroke; a blow. [Obs.] "That dent of thunder." Chaucer.
2. A slight depression, or small notch or hollow, made by a blow or by pressure; an indentation.
A blow that would have made a dent in a pound of butter.
De Quincey.
Dent, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dented; p. pr. & vb. n. Denting.] To make a dent upon; to indent.
The houses dented with bullets.
Macaulay.
Dent, n. [F., fr. L. dens, dentis, tooth. See Tooth.] (Mach.) A tooth, as of a card, a gear wheel, etc. Knight.
Den"tal (dn"tal), a. [L. dens, dentis, tooth: cf. F. dental. See Tooth.] 1. Of or pertaining to the teeth or to dentistry; as, dental surgery.
2. (Phon.) Formed by the aid of the teeth; -- said of certain articulations and the letters representing them; as, d and t are dental letters.
Dental formula (Zoöl.), a brief notation used by zoölogists to denote the number and kind of teeth of a mammal. -- Dental surgeon, a dentist.
Den"tal, n. [Cf. F. dentale. See Dental, a.] 1. An articulation or letter formed by the aid of the teeth.
2. (Zoöl.) A marine mollusk of the genus Dentalium, with a curved conical shell resembling a tooth. See Dentalium.
Den"tal*ism (-z'm), n. The quality of being formed by the aid of the teeth.
||Den*ta"li*um (?), n. [NL., fr. L. dens, dentis, tooth.] (Zoöl.) A genus of marine mollusks belonging to the Scaphopoda, having a tubular conical shell.
Den"ta*ry (?), a. (Anat.) Pertaining to, or bearing, teeth. -- n. The distal bone of the lower jaw in many animals, which may or may not bear teeth.
{ Den"tate (dn"tt), Den"ta*ted (- t*td), } a. [L. dentatus, fr. dens, dentis, tooth.] 1. (Bot.) Toothed; especially, with the teeth projecting straight out, not pointed either forward or backward; as, a dentate leaf.