intersecond
English edit
Etymology edit
From inter- + second. A recent coinage; see usage notes.
Adjective edit
intersecond (not comparable)
- (nonstandard) Between the members of the second pair of specified things (such as premolars or molars).
- 2015, Marcio Rodrigues de Almeida et al., “Dentoalveolar mandibular changes with self-ligating versus conventional bracket systems: A CBCT and dental cast study”, in Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics[1], volume 20, :
- As for intersecond premolar distances, there was an increase of 2.10 mm for SLB and 1.75 mm for CLB; however, this increase was similar for both groups.
Usage notes edit
The adjectives interfirst and intersecond in reference to teeth (premolars or molars) are rarely used nonstandard forms born of editorial errors. They arise from compound constructions such as /inter + first molar + distance/ (the distance between the first molars in a given dental arch) that undergo a copyeditorial error in which a general rule to remove unnecessary hyphens from prefixes that don't need them is misapplied to a term where multiple hyphens or an en dash should have been used: either inter-first-molar distance (two hyphens) or inter–first molar distance (one en dash).