Where does the phrase give an eyetooth originate from?

Answer 1

The term is, High Tooth... as in, "I'd give my high tooth for that car" or some such. The High Tooth refers to the canine tooth, which becomes 'higher' as the years go by ue to gum shrinkage. The expression of giving this tooth comes from the medieval era in England where teeth were considered a commodity as they were used in a variety of pastes and poultices. In most cases, teeth were extracted from corpses but times were tough and there existed a black market wherein living donors would give their teeth for money. The front teeth were the first to be extracted but since they were painful to extract and the most useful considering the diet of the time; the canines were the last teeth to go in most cases. Removing one's canine teeth was considered a last measure but yielded a larger sum. This also applies to the term, "Long in the Tooth". As one grows older, the gums recede and teeth appear 'longer'. Therefore, an elderly person is concsidered long in the tooth.