Pectinate

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈpɛktəneɪt/

Definitions

1. Having a comb-like arrangement or structure that features closely set elements in a linear fashion
2. Pertaining to a configuration where parts are arranged in a parallel, serrated manner resembling a comb
3. Exhibiting a shape or design where elements are arranged side by side resembling the teeth of a comb

Etymology: Pectinate describes things shaped like a comb: the feathery antennae of certain moths, or the teeth along a leaf margin. It comes from Latin "pectinatus," meaning "combed," built on "pecten," the word for comb. That Latin word also gave English "pecten," the name for a scallop shell, because its ridged surface looks like a comb's teeth. The English adjective was formed in the mid-18th century, when naturalists needed precise terms to describe the body parts they were cataloguing. Its root, "pectin," is a separate story: chemists later borrowed the same Latin stem to name a substance found in fruit that makes jams set, and the suffix "-ate" in "pectinate" comes from that chemical usage rather than from Latin. The two words share a root but reached English through different routes. The mid-18th-century coinage shows how often scientific English reached back into Latin for vocabulary that common speech never needed.

Synonyms: comb-like, serrated