spatula

Borrowed from Latin spatula (“a flat piece”), the diminutive form of spatha (“broad or flat tool”), from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē, “a broad wood or metal blade”). Doublet of spauld; compare spatha and spathe.

• IPA^(key): /ˈspætjʊlə/, /ˈspæt͡ʃʊlə/, /ˈspæt͡ʃələ/

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spatula (plural spatulas or spatulae or spatulæ)

1. (cooking) A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting, or stirring food.

   Synonyms: fish slice, fish trowel, turner, pancake turner, kitchen turner, cooking turner, flipper

2. (Canada, US) A kitchen utensil consisting of a flexible surface attached to a long handle, used for scraping the sides of bowls.

   Synonyms: scraper, dough scraper

3. (dated) A palette knife.
4. (chemistry) A thin hand tool, often made of nickel, for handling chemicals or other materials, when weighing, etc.
5. A croupier's tool for turning up cards in a casino.
   • 1963, Ian Fleming, On Her Majesty's Secret Service:

     The croupier delicately faced her other two cards with the tip of his spatula. A four! She had lost!

6. (entomology) A sclerotized, T-shaped plate in the prothorax of larvae of flies belonging to family Cecidomyiidae, the gall midges.
   • 2015 November 2, Donald B. Thomas, John A. Goolsby, “Morphology of the Preimaginal Stages of Lasioptera donacis Coutin (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a Candidate Biocontrol Agent for Giant Arundo Cane”, in Psyche, →DOI:

     The third instars are similar to other members of the genus except for a three-pronged spatula (typically two-pronged) and five lateral papillae (typically four) and with a nonbristled first instar.

spatula (third-person singular simple present spatulas, present participle spatulaing, simple past and past participle spatulaed)

1. (transitive) To lift with or as if with a spatula.
   • 1996 September 3, Macy Garcia, “What is the difference between Gesso, Modeling Paste & Texture Gel?”, in rec.arts.fine‎ (Usenet):

     A book on Pastels referes [sic] to a rough Modeling paste to be spatulaed over cotton duck.

   • 1997 May 15, Toby, “Any same-sex marriage opposition?”, in alt.atheism‎ (Usenet):

     So if you get road-pizzaed, should you have to pay in order to get yourself spatulaed off of the street?

   • 2018 March 13, Bruce Holbert, Whiskey: A Novel, MCD, →ISBN, page 4:

     Eddie spatulaed the patty onto a bun and extracted tomatoes, lettuce, and sliced pickles from a Tupperware.

2. (transitive) To strike with a spatula.
   • 1997 March 14, arnoldkim, “Best way to get yourself killed in anime”, in rec.arts.anime.misc‎ (Usenet):

     Or if you're a Ranma Character. I mean, they've been kicked/punched/thrown/hammered/spatulaed into the stratosphere enough times, you gotta figure they've developed a prretty high threshold of pain/injury.

   • 2000 February 15, erik, “*”, in alt.bored‎ (Usenet):

     i.....am............dying.....................i'vebeen..............spatula'd........................to.........death...

   • 2000 March 7, Justa Hillbilly, “Does this place get WILD???”, in alt.bored‎ (Usenet):

     I haven't spatulaed anyone in ages...<suddenly getting itchy spatula arm>

• spathula

Diminutive from spatha (“broad, flat tool”) +‎ -ula (diminutive suffix).

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.tu.la/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.tu.la/,

spatula f (genitive spatulae); first declension

1. a broad, flat piece.

   spatula porcina — "leg of pork".

2. a little palm frond.
3. (Late Latin) a scapula (shoulder blade).
4. (Late Latin) a spoon or spatula (kitchenware).

First-declension noun.

• spatulātus, spathulātus

• spatha

• “spatula”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• spatula in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• spatula in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

spatula

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of spatulă