1799, "pertaining to the sockets of the teeth," from a modern medical use of Latin alveolus "socket, small hollow or cavity" (see alveolus) + -ar. Sense extended 19c. to other anatomical hollows.
Entries linking to alveolar
alveolus n.
1706, "a hollow," especially "the socket of a tooth," from Latin alveolus "a tray, trough, basin; bed of a small river; small hollow or cavity," diminutive of alvus "belly, stomach, paunch, bowels; hold of a ship," from PIE root *aulo- "hole, cavity" (source also of Greek aulos "flute, tube, pipe;" Serbo-Croatian, Polish, Russian ulica "street," originally "narrow opening;" Old Church Slavonic uliji, Lithuanian aulys "beehive" (hollow trunk), Armenian yli "pregnant"). The word was extended in 19c. anatomy to other small pits, sockets, or cells.
-ar
word-formation element meaning "pertaining to, of the nature of," from Latin -arem, -aris "of the kind of, belonging to," a secondary form (by dissimilation) of -alis, used after syllables with an -l- (such as insularis for *insulalis, stellaris for *stellalis).