Meaning & use
spathulate
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparabletechnicalspecialistbiology
Shaped like a spoon: narrow at the base and wider, usually rounded, at the tip.
Grammar: Describes a shape, so it is not used with more or most; it comes before a noun or after a linking verb.
Patterns
- a spathulate leaf
- spathulate leaves
- spathulate in shape
The plant is easy to recognize by its spathulate leaves, which are thin near the stem and broad at the end.
Each petal is spathulate, widening from a narrow base into a rounded tip.
In the key, the two species are separated by whether the lower leaves are spathulate or merely oval.
Common combinations
- spathulate leaf
- A spathulate leaf is narrow where it joins the stem and wider at the far end.
- spathulate petals
- The flowers have small spathulate petals with rounded tips.
- a spathulate shape
- Botanists describe the seed pod as having a spathulate shape.
- broadly spathulate
- The leaves are broadly spathulate, almost circular at the tip.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spoon-shaped
- The everyday equivalent; use it in general writing, and keep spathulate for botanical descriptions.
- obovate
- Also wider at the tip, but obovate leaves are widest above the middle without the narrow spoon-like base.
- paddle-shaped
- Similar in meaning but used for tools and animal parts rather than for leaves in scientific writing.
Word family
- spatula noun
- A kitchen or laboratory tool with a flat, flexible blade; the shape word comes from it.
- spatulate adjective
- The usual British and American spelling of the same adjective.
Commonly confused: spathulate or spatulate? spathulate or spatula?
spathulate vs spatulate
This is the same word with the more common spelling; spathulate keeps the h from the Latin source and appears mainly in older botanical texts.
spathulate vs spatula
A spatula is the tool, a noun; spathulate is the adjective describing a spoon-like shape.
Practice
Which sentence uses spathulate correctly?
Choose one answer.
B fits because spathulate is an adjective describing a spoon-like shape and comes before a noun or after a linking verb such as are. A fails because the tool is a spatula, a noun. C fails because spathulate is not a verb. D fails because a shape adjective of this kind is not used with more.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spathulate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.