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subulate

[soo-byuh-lit, -leyt]
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adjective Biology.
  1. slender, somewhat cylindrical, and tapering to a point; awl-shaped.
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Origin of subulate

1750–60; < New Latin sūbulātus, equivalent to Latin sūbul(a) awl + -ātus -ate1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for subulate

Historical Examples

  • Involucral leaves 5–6 (in our species), small, subulate, adnate.

    The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States

    Asa Gray

  • Tentacula depressed, subulate, at the external base of which are the eyes.

  • The pharyngeal teeth are subulate and acute, and of unequal heights.

  • It produces millions of leaves, but every one is awl-shaped--subulate.

    Among the Forces

    Henry White Warren

  • Subulate, awl-shaped; tapering from a broadish or thickish base to a sharp point.

British Dictionary definitions for subulate

subulate

adjective
  1. (esp of plant parts) tapering to a point; awl-shaped
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Word Origin

C18: from New Latin subulatus like an awl, from Latin sūbula awl
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012