fastigiate

American  

[fa-stij-ee-it, -eyt] / fæˈstɪdʒ i ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

Also fastigiated

adjective

1. rising to a pointed top.

2. Zoology. joined together in a tapering adhering group.

3. Botany.

   1. erect and parallel, as branches.

   2. having such branches.

---

fastigiate British  

/ fæˈstɪdʒɪɪt, -ˌeɪt /

adjective

1. (of plants) having erect branches, often appearing to form a single column with the stem

2. (of parts or organs) united in a tapering group

---

Other Word Forms

• subfastigiate adjective
• subfastigiated adjective

Etymology

Origin of fastigiate

First recorded in 1655–65; from Medieval Latin fastīgātus “high, lofty,” from Latin fastīgi(um) “height, highest point” + -ate ¹

Explanation

A tree or shrub that is fastigiate has branches that point up. Sometimes the upward sloping branches of a fastigiate tree could look like they’re part of a single column. The word fastigiate comes from the world of botany. A tree that's fastigiate has branches that point up — they’re erect and almost parallel. This gives fastigiate trees a distinctive look, and some people like to plant them in the yard where they don’t have tons of space but want a tree. A Lombardy poplar and a kind of ginkgo biloba are fastigiate trees. Bushes or even branches can be described as fastigiate too.

Example Sentences

They are ordinarily called pyramidal or fastigiate forms, and as far as their history goes, they arise suddenly in large sowings of the normal species.

From Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation by Vries, Hugo de

Among trees the pendulous or weeping, and the broomlike or fastigiate forms are very marked varieties, which occur in species belonging to quite different orders.

From Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation by Vries, Hugo de

Both weeping and fastigiate characters are therefore to be regarded as steps in a negative direction, and it is highly important that even such marked departures occur without transitions or intermediate forms.

From Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation by Vries, Hugo de

It is often called the pyramidal or fastigiate poplar.

From Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation by Vries, Hugo de

Beyond that there were many and large limbs; which, diverging only slightly, and in a fastigiate manner, carried the tree nearly as much higher.

From Bruin The Grand Bear Hunt by Zwecker, Johann Baptist