spatulate

comparative more spatulate · superlative most spatulate · alternative spathulate

1. Shaped like a spatula; having a rounded, flattened extremity.

   For a moment he was sunk in thought, coiling (so it seemed) and uncoiling his long spatulate fingers.

   1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 804

   1 more example

   “I nearly fell into the error of supposing that you were typewriting. Of course, it is obvious that it is music. You observe the spatulate finger-ends, Watson, which is common to both professions?[…]”

   1903 December 26, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC

   Synonyms: spatular, spatuloid, spatulous

2. biologyOf a leaf: having a broad, flat end and tapering into a narrower base.

present singular third person spatulates · participle present spatulating · participle past spatulated · past spatulated · alternative spathulate

1. To treat or mix with a spatula.
2. To incise the end of (a pliable cylindrical structure) such that the cut end can be splayed apart and flattened.