capitate

C3A1P3I1T1A1T1E1
/ˈkæpɪtət//ˈkæpɪteɪt/

adjective

Having a distinct globular tip.

RareScrabble 12

Meanings

capitate1

adjectivecapitate (not comparable)
  1. not comparableanatomyHaving a distinct globular tip.
    1 more example

    1913 Henry Gray: Anatomy Descriptive and Applied The capitate bone is the largest of the carpal bones, and occupies the centre of the wrist. It presents, above, a rounded portion or head, which is received into the concavity formed by the navicular and lunate; a constricted portion or neck; and below this, the body. The superior surface is round, smooth, and articulates with the lunate.

  2. not comparablebiologyTopped with a dense, head-like cluster, such as the inflorescences of composites or the antennae of some insects.

    Capitate antennae are thin through most of the structure, then abruptly widen, so it looks like the head of a pin sitting on the end of the antennae. This antennal shape is commonly found in butterflies.

    2020 Jason H. Byrd, Jeffery K. Tomberlin (eds) Forensic Entomology ISBN: 978-0-815-35016-3
    1 more example

    1884 A. de Bary Comparative Anatomy of the Vegetative Organs of the Phanerogams and Ferns. Oxford University Press Capitate hairs occur on most leaf-forming plants, especially Dicotyledons and Ferns, as a rule in company with non-glandular hairs. It is true they are absent from many large groups... To this category belong in the first place the great majority of the universally distributed glandular hairs ... Meanwhile we need only remark here, that the glandular hairs are characterised by no special form, but rather by definite properties of the cell walls; therefore the terms capitate and glandular hair are not equivalent. In the case of many capitate hairs, it is as yet uncertain whether they possess the characteristic properties of glandular hairs...

nouncapitate (plural capitates)

plural capitates

  1. anatomyThe capitate bone of the wrist.

capitate2

verbcapitate (third-person singular simple present capitates, present participle capitating, simple past and past participle capitated)

present singular third person capitates · participle present capitating · participle past capitated · past capitated

  1. UShealth careTo pay health-care providers using a capitation system.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivebeing abruptly enlarged and globose at the tip

nounthe wrist bone with a rounded head shape that articulates with the 3rd metacarpus

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

capitate · adjective, noun

  1. Latincapitātus“having a head”
  2. Englishcapitate

From Latin capitātus (“having a head”), from caput (“head”) + -ātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix). The noun comes from the clipping of capitate bone.

Full word history & related roots →

capitate · verb

Back-formation from capitation.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Romanian capitat
  • capitathaving a distinct globular tip
Cite this entry
APA

capitate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capitate

MLA

“capitate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capitate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “capitate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capitate.

Source: capitate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.