Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DENT, n. [Arm. danta, to gap or notch. It seems to be from dant, a tooth; Fr. dent; L. dens; Gr. οδους; W. dant; It. dente; Sp. diente, whence dentar, endentar, to tooth; Port. dente; Pers. دندأَن dandan; Gypsy and Hindoo, dant, danda. Hence, Fr. denteler, to dent or indent, to jag or notch.]

1. Literally, a tooth or projecting point. But it is used to express a gap or notch, or rather a depression or small hollow in a solid body; a hollow made by the pressure of a harder body on a softer; indentation. In this sense it is in customary use in the United States.
2. A stroke. – Spenser.