molar

Definitions

From Latin mola (millstone) + -ar = 'grinding-stone tooth.' This is the literal, physical core of mol's 'grind' branch: your back teeth have broad flat surfaces that crush food exactly as a millstone crushes grain. molar = the mouth's millstone.

Why It Means This

Unlike most mol words, molar's link to grinding is literal rather than metaphorical. mola was the Roman millstone; a molar is the tooth that does the same job — flat and broad, built to mash rather than bite. (Note: in chemistry 'molar' is a separate sense from 'mole,' a unit of amount, and is unrelated to this grinding root.)

Common Collocations

• 1.back molar后排臼齿
• 2.lower molar下排臼齿
• 3.molar tooth臼齿
• 4.wisdom molar智齿

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The dentist filled a cavity in my lower molar.

• 2.

  Molars are the broad teeth at the back that grind your food.

• 3.

  Wisdom teeth are the third and last set of molars.