Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
lunate

lunate

8.6
Shaped like a crescent moon
  • adjective
  • /ˈluːneɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : lunar
  • She wore a lunate pendant that resembled the new moon.

Examples

  • The architect designed a window with a lunate curve at the top.

  • A lunate shape was visible in the night sky as the moon began to wax.

  • The fossil displayed a lunate mark on its surface.

  • The lunate shape of the crescent moon captivates many.

  • The architect designed a window with a lunate curve at the top.

  • She wore a lunate pendant that resembled the new moon.

  • A lunate shape was visible in the night sky as the moon began to wax.

Synonyms

crescent-shaped
vslunate
3 3.8

Shaped like a curved moon

is the general word for that same curved moonlike form
crescentic
vslunate
1 6.6

Shaped like a thin, curved moon

is a general label for that same moonlike curve
crescent
vslunate
1 3.9

Shaped like a curved moon, wide in the middle and pointed at both ends

is the broader curved term not focused on pointed ends
semilunar
vslunate
8.3

Shaped like a half moon

is the common term for the same moonlike curved shape

Compounds

lunate bone
  • Specialized
6.3

A small bone in the middle of the wrist shaped like a half moon that helps hand movement

How Crescent-Shaped

lunate
  • Specialized
8.6
curved
6 1.0
rounded
1 2.4

Surface Forms

lunate positive

Morphology

lunate = lunar (semi-transparent) = lun + ate

Formed with the Latin combining element 'lun-' plus the adjectival suffix '-ate'; learners familiar with 'lunar' may infer 'moon-shaped', but 'lun-' is not a free, productive English morpheme so inference is only partly reliable.

Etymology

Lunate comes from the Latin luna, meaning 'moon', so it means 'moon-shaped'. Think of a thin crescent moon to remember that lunate means curved like a small moon and that it shares the same root as lunar, which also means 'relating to the moon'.