'isodontous' originates from Ancient Greek, specifically the elements 'isos' and 'odous' (or 'odont-'), where 'isos' meant 'equal' and 'odous' meant 'tooth'.

'isodontous' changed from New Latin/Scientific coinages based on Greek (e.g. Late Greek 'isodontos' or New Latin 'isodontus') and eventually became the modern English scientific adjective 'isodontous'.

Initially, it literally meant 'equal-toothed' in formation, and over time it has retained that technical meaning as 'having teeth of equal size or form' in modern scientific usage.