Applanate

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A state can be characterized by a lack of curvature, indicating a flat or level nature
2. To render a surface evenly flat without any curves or elevations
3. To transform a curved form into one that is smooth and planar

Etymology: "Applanate" comes from the Latin "applanatus," the past participle of "applanare," meaning "to level" or "to make flat." The verb is built from "ad-," meaning "to" or "toward," and "planare," which means "to flatten," from "planus," or "flat." The English adjective keeps the Latin participle's sense of a surface that has been pressed or smoothed into evenness. The same Latin root sits behind several familiar English words. "Plain," the flat land, arrived through Old French from "planus," and "plane," the flat surface and the carpenter's tool that levels wood, takes its name from the Latin "planum," a flat surface. "Applanate" stayed a more technical word, and it appears mostly in scientific and medical writing, such as descriptions of instruments that flatten a part of the eye to measure pressure.

Synonyms: flattened, spread, expanded, leveled, smoothed

Antonyms: curved, rounded, bulging, raised, protruding