'rostrate' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'rostratus', where 'rostrum' meant 'beak'.

'rostrate' changed from the Latin past-participle form 'rostratus' (from 'rostrum') and entered scientific English via Neo-Latin usage, eventually becoming the modern English adjective 'rostrate'.

Initially, it meant 'having a beak or furnished with a rostrum', and this core meaning has largely been retained into modern usage as 'beak-like' or 'bearing a beaklike projection'.