Spatulate

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Shaped like a broad, flat spoon or having a rounded, flattened tip similar to a spatula; pertaining to or resembling a tool for spreading or stirring substances; describing objects or structures that widen toward the end and narrow at the base
2. Having a form characterized by a flattened, widened end similar to a kitchen implement used for spreading; relating to or denoting a shape that is broad and tapering like a spatula; describing an anatomical or botanical feature with a spoon-shaped tip
3. Exhibiting a spoonlike outline with a broad, flat tip and narrow base as in certain tools or natural forms; referring to shapes used to stir or apply materials; indicating a flattened, rounded morphology typical of spatula-like items

Etymology: Spatulate comes from "spatula", the Latin word for a broad, flat implement, a diminutive of "spatha", meaning a broad blade or spoon-like paddle. Its Greek ancestor "spathē" also gave English "spathe", the sheathing leaf around a flower cluster, a shared root that makes the two words distant cousins. English took "spatula" directly from Latin, and the adjective "spatulate" followed as a technical term for anything broadened and rounded at the end like a spatula. Botanists and zoologists use it to describe leaves, petals and other parts that are narrow at the base and widen toward a rounded tip, which is why the word is more common in scientific descriptions than in everyday speech.

Synonyms: spoon-shaped, broad, flattened, bladed, expanded

Antonyms: narrow, pointed, tapered, slender, thin