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Glite Dictionary
🌿 Hand-like leaf 🦆 Webbed bird feet
palmate

palmate

8.4
A leaf with lobes that spread from one point like a hand
  • adjective
  • /ˈpɑːlmeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : palmeado
  • The palmate leaves of the maple tree are beautiful in autumn.
  • palmate leaf

Examples

  • The horse chestnut tree has palmate leaves with five to seven spreading leaflets.

  • Some species of maple display striking palmate leaf patterns.

  • Her botany textbook included a diagram of a palmate leaf next to a pinnate one.

  • I noticed a palmate pattern on the fern leaves.

  • The garden featured several plants with large, palmate leaves that fanned out like fingers.

  • In early spring, the palmate leaves of the maple tree emerge, spreading from the central stem.

  • The palmate design of the leaves allows them to catch sunlight efficiently as they grow.

Synonyms

palmately-lobed
vspalmate
  • Specialized
9.1

Leaf parts spread from one center point like the fingers of a hand

applies only to leaves rather than to other organs
palm-shaped
vspalmate
  • Specialized
5.2

A leaf with parts that spread from one point like a hand

focuses on lobes spreading like fingers rather than general shape resemblance

Compounds

palmate leaf
  • Specialized
6.5

A leaf with parts that spread from one point like an open hand

Surface Forms

palmate positive

Morphology

palmate = palm (transparent) = palm + ate

The adjective is directly formed from 'palm' (hand) with the adjectival suffix '-ate', so 'having the form of a palm' is clearly derivable.

Etymology

Palmate comes from the Latin word palma, which means 'palm of the hand' and is the same root as the English word palm. So a palmate leaf has parts that spread out from one point like the fingers of a hand, which explains the shape you see today.