Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wisdom tooth

/ˈwɪzdəm ˈtuːθ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.88 in modern English

Syllables: wis-dom -tooth
IPA: /ˈwɪzdəm ˈtuːθ/

20

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One of the four (one upper and one lower on each side) rearmost molars in humans, which typically develop between ages 18-24.

Etymology

From wisdom + tooth, calque of Latin dēns sapientiae, which is itself a calque of Ancient Greek σωφρονιστῆρες (sōphronistêres, “prudent or self-controlled ones (i.e. teeth)”), because they arrive approximately when one has reached the age of prudence or wisdom. Compare also German Weisheitszahn (“wisdom tooth”), Danish visdomstand (“wisdom tooth”), Swedish visdomstand (“wisdom tooth”), Icelandic vísdómstönn (“wisdom tooth”), Dutch verstandskies (“wisdom tooth”, literally “intellect molar”), German Low German Verstandskuus (“wisdom tooth”, literally “wisdom molar”). Chinese 智齒 /智齿 (zhìchǐ), Russian зуб мудрости (zub mudrosti), Hebrew שן בינה (shen biná) and Finnish viisaudenhammas also mean “tooth of wisdom”.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: σωφρονιστήρ

Inflected Forms

wisdom teeth (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce wisdom tooth?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwɪzdəm ˈtuːθ/.
What does wisdom tooth mean?: One of the four (one upper and one lower on each side) rearmost molars in humans, which typically develop between ages 18-24.
Where does wisdom tooth come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce wisdom tooth

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wisdom tooth”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwɪzdəm ˈtuːθ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wisdom tooth”.
Repeat and practice — Say “wisdom tooth” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.