The Collaborative International Dictionary
Gomphosis \Gom*pho"sis\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ?, prop., a bolting together, fr. ? to fasten with bolts or nails, ? bolt, nail: cf. F. gomphose.] (Anat.) A form of union or immovable articulation where a hard part is received into the cavity of a bone, as the teeth into the jaws.
Wiktionary
n. (context anatomy English) a type of fibrous, immovable joint such as the one between the teeth and the alveolar bone
Wikipedia
Gomphosis, also known as the dental-alveolar joint, is a joint that binds the teeth to bony sockets ( dental alveoli) in the maxillary bone and mandible. The fibrous connection between a tooth and its socket is a periodontal ligament. Specifically, the connection is made between the maxilla or mandible to the cementum of the tooth.
The motion of a gomphosis is minimal, though considerable movement can be achieved over time—the basis of using braces to realign teeth. The joint can be considered a synarthrosis.
The gomphosis is the only joint-type in which a bone does not join another bone, as teeth are not technically bone. In modern, more anatomical, joint classification, the gomphosis is simply considered a fibrous joint because the tissue linking the structures is ligamentous.
A gomphosis is a specialized fibrous joint in which a conical process or peg of one bone fits into a hole or socket in another bone. (gomphos is a Greek word meaning bolt). Small quantity of fibrous tissue holds the bones together. No movement is possible at such peg-and-socket joints.
Usage examples of "gomphosis".
And how the seeds of many pappous or downy flowers lock-up in sockets after a gomphosis or mortis-articulation, diffuse themselves circularly into branches of rare order, observable in Tragopogon or Goats-beard, conformable to the Spider's web, and the Radii in like manner telarely inter-woven.