rostrate
- adjective
- Specialized
- Fossils show that ancient reptiles had rostrate snouts, adapted for catching fish.
Examples
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The bird's rostrate beak helped it reach into the flowers for nectar.
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Some species of turtles exhibit a rostrate shape that aids in their foraging behavior.
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You see they come from the most rostrate part of this particular region of the neural Crest.
Synonyms
Having a part shaped like a bird's beak
Having a long pointed nose that looks like a bird's beak
Having a shape like a bird's beak
How Beaklike
Surface Forms
Morphology
rostrate = rostrum (opaque) = rostr + ate
The adjective is formed from the Latin stem 'rostr-' plus '-ate', but 'rostr-' is not a productive or familiar English base, so learners cannot reliably derive the meaning.
Etymology
Rostrate comes from the Latin word rostrum, which means 'beak'. So something rostrate has a 'beak-like' or pointed front, like a bird's beak or a fish's snout.