Vallate

Part of speech: adjective, verb, noun

Definitions

1. Surrounded by a raised rim or ridge, as certain structures in anatomy or botany
2. Defined by a raised border or edge, typical of certain biological structures
3. Characterized by having a distinct rim around a particular form in biological contexts

Etymology: Latin "vallum" meant a rampart or palisade, the defensive mound a Roman army raised around a camp, and "vallatus" was the participle of the verb "vallare," to fortify with such a barrier. English "wall" comes from the same Latin source, borrowed by Germanic speakers so early that it was already "weall" in Old English. The Romans also used "vallum" for Britain's northern frontier, where the Vallum Hadriani is a ditch-and-mound earthwork running alongside Hadrian's Wall. In anatomy and botany, the adjective describes structures bordered by a ridge, most famously the circumvallate papillae at the back of the human tongue. These are the largest taste buds, set in a V-shaped row and each encircled by a trench, so the Latin image fits the shape closely.