The Secret Breast Connections of the Internet, Here of Mastodon

The word comes from "mastodont," which the Oxford English Dictionary tells us comes from

French mastodonte (Cuvier 1806, in Ann. du muséum d'hist. nat. de Paris8 270) < masto-masto- comb. form² + -odonte-odont comb. form, with reference to the nipple-like tubercles present in pairs on the crowns of the molar teeth.

Perhaps those nipple-like objects came from Amazons,

< Latin Amazon, < Greek Ἀμαζών, -όνα; explained by the Greeks < ἀ priv. + μαζ-ός a breast (in connection with the fable that they destroyed the right breast so as not to interfere with the use of the bow), but probably pop. etym. of an unknown foreign word.

And of course they don't call it Go Ogle for nothing.

Comments

[Nick Gillespie's Jacket]

For any husband whose wife has been unfortunate enough to develop mastitis while nursing a newborn, you’ll be familiar with the root of the term. If there are more painful conditions for a woman to suffer, there can’t be many. Absolutely brutal.

[Eugene Volokh]

Indeed, "mast-" is a familiar root, most often heard, I expect, as to "mastectomy" (another thing that's best avoided, unless necessary). The surprise to many, I think, is that the "mast-" in "mastodon" is the same "mast-."

[MatthewSlyfield]

as to “mastectomy” (another thing that’s breast avoided, unless necessary). 🙂

[SRG]

One might speculate that the word Amazon comes from a Semitic root - cf "imah" Heb. for "mother" and "zonah" Heb f. for "provider" (and hence also "a prostitute") so "Amazon" may have meant "huntress". Hey, I'm as entitled to speculate as the next amateur etymologist...

[ReaderY]

Surely you know that mastadon is a word that was coined to describe an extinct genus of pre-historic elephant-like animals, first discovered in the late 18th century, which were identified as being a different species from elephants because their teeth were different and given a name emphasizing this difference. The term never existed before it was coined by scientists following this discovery, by compounding two Greek roots into a novel compound word. So speculation about what ancient Greeks might thought about mastodons and whether they might have thought the concept of nipple-like teeth related to Amazon nipples (warriors with bite, but with breasts) might be a good laugh or at least a semi-decent joke (in both senses of the word). But it’s a complete anachronism as a hypothesis about history.

[Eugene Volokh]

I surely do know that -- this is just a bit of absurdist humor, not any hypothesis about history.

[Krayt]

Boy, it's a good thing they went extinct. "Hey, Boob-Teeth!"

Poor guy wouldn't do so well in school.

[great Unknown]

were the amazons practicing a halfway transition?

[Intelligent Mr Toad]

Bring back the 1916 Standing-Liberty quarter!!!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Standing_Liberty_Quarter_Type1_1917S_Obverse.png

[princess jasmine]

let's level with what's really going on here. Eugene is making fun of the early promise of the internet. I felt it, you felt it, there's no denying it.