English
heterodont
From hetero- (prefix meaning ‘different’) + -odont (suffix meaning ‘tooth; toothed’).
Formed from hetero- + -odont
Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’
Proto-Indo-European *sḿ̥teros
Proto-Hellenic *hə́teros
Ancient Greek ἕτερος ‘other, another, different’
English hetero-
The story
From hetero- (prefix meaning ‘different’) + -odont (suffix meaning ‘tooth; toothed’). Hetero- is derived from Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros, “one or the other of two; different”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (‘together; one’); while -odont is from Ancient Greek ὀδούς (odoús, “tooth; tusk”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- (‘to bite’) + *-ónts (suffix forming nouns denoting body parts).
Today it means
adj Having teeth of different types (like most mammals).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / heterodont