capitate
|cap-i-tate|
🇺🇸
/kəˈpɪteɪt/
🇬🇧
/kəˈpɪtɪt/
having a head / forming a head
Etymology
'capitate' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'capitatus', where 'caput' meant 'head'.
'capitate' came into English via Medieval/Neo-Latin 'capitatus' (formed from Latin 'caput') and was adopted into scientific and anatomical vocabulary in Modern English as 'capitate'.
Initially it meant 'having or relating to a head' in Latin-derived scientific usage; this sense has been preserved in modern botanical and anatomical uses of 'capitate'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the capitate bone, the largest of the carpal bones in the human wrist (anatomy).
The surgeon examined the capitate for signs of fracture.
Synonyms
Verb 1
to form or gather into a head; to become head-shaped (chiefly used in botany).
Under favorable conditions the buds capitate early in the season.
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Antonyms
Adjective 1
having a head or a dense cluster of short stalked flowers; forming a head (used in botany and zoology).
The plant's inflorescences are capitate, forming compact heads.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/08 03:25