Affected by or characterized by caries; decayed or decaying, especially referring to teeth or bone.
From Latin 'cariosus', derived from 'caries' meaning decay or rottenness, originally used for any type of decay but now primarily used in medical and dental contexts.
A carious tooth is one that's actively rotting away from decay—the Latin root 'caries' was used by Roman physicians to describe any kind of rot, which is why dentists still use this ancient word today.
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