palatal

[pal-uh-tl]

adjective

1. Anatomy.,  of or relating to the palate.

2. Phonetics.,  articulated with the blade of the tongue held close to or touching the hard palate.

noun

1. Phonetics.,  a palatal consonant.

palatal

/ ˈpælətəl /

adjective

1. Also called: palatine. of or relating to the palate

2. phonetics of, relating to, or denoting a speech sound articulated with the blade of the tongue touching the hard palate

noun

1. Also called: palatine. the bony plate that forms the palate

2. phonetics a palatal speech sound, such as the semivowel (j)

Other Word Forms

• palatalism noun
• palatality noun
• palatally adverb
• nonpalatal adjective
• prepalatal adjective
• unpalatal adjective
• unpalatally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of palatal¹

From French, dating back to 1820–30; palate, -al ¹

Example Sentences

The palatal organ of fish such as minnows, carp, and catfish can also be a bundle of muscle, but biologists are split on whether it should be considered a tongue.

From Science Magazine

Scientists first identified this palatal organ in the monster ghost shark in 2015.

From National Geographic

An indenting plate squashes on to one of these, creating a shallow meat basin which palatal conquistadors can fill with garlic mushroom, diced chorizo, wasabi mayonnaise, whatever.

From The Guardian

Human echolocators use palatal clicks or hand claps to “see” objects around them, like sonar in bats, only bats use ultrasonic frequencies that can resolve flying insects.

From New York Times

Skull: Long and slender; rostrum long and narrow; zygomatic and mastoidal breadths slight; palatal pits deep; upper incisors narrow; basioccipital wide.

From Project Gutenberg