spatula

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
(spăch'ə-lə) pronunciation
n.
  1. A small implement having a broad, flat, flexible blade that is used to mix, spread, or lift material.
  2. A device, such as a small wooden paddle, used to press down the tongue during an examination of the mouth or throat.

[Latin, flat piece of wood, splint, diminutive of spatha, broadsword. See spathe.]

spatular spat'u·lar adj.

[SPACH-oo-luh] A flattish, rather narrow kitchen utensil that comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Depending on the material from which it's made (which includes wood, metal, rubber and plastic), spatulas can be used for a plethora of kitchen tasks. Rigid wood spatulas are good for scraping the sides of pots and turning foods, whereas softer plastic or rubber spatulas are better for stirring ingredients in a curved bowl and folding mixtures together. Flexible metal spatulas-both long and short-are perfect for spreading frosting on cakes. See also turner.


[Ar]

A bone or stone tool comprising a broad thin blade. The use of such items can rarely be specified, but they seem to have been used for burnishing pottery and in leatherworking.


a small, flattened or curved utensil made of metal (often stainless steel), bone, or wood and used to dispense crystalline or powdered material.

Previous:spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay, spasmolytic polypeptide, sparsomycin
Next:specialist database, speciation, species

A wide, flat, blunt, usually flexible instrument of little thickness, used for spreading material on a smooth surface or mixing.

  • obstetric s. — Keller's spatula is a long-handled, 3 ft, rod with a blunt spatulate tip, introduced into the uterus and manipulated from outside the cow or mare. Used to remove the skin of the fetus by blunt dissection. De Bruin's spatula is similar and used for a similar purpose but is short-handled and is manipulated from inside the uterus.

n

A flat-bladed instrument without sharp edges used for mixing certain dental materials (for example, cement, plaster of paris, impression pastes).

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'spatula'

Top
Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to spatula, see:

The term spatula is used to refer to various small implements with a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift materials including foods, drugs, plaster and paints. The term derives from the Latin word for a flat piece of wood or splint (a diminutive form of the Latin spatha, meaning broadsword), and hence can also refer to a tongue depressor. The words spade (digging tool) and spathe are similarly derived. The word spatula is known to have been used in English since 1525.[1]

Contents

Design

Spatulas have a handle long enough to keep the holder's hand away from what is being lifted, or flipped. The blade often has one side longer than the other. The right side (as used) tends to be longer than the left, as this is more effective for right-handed people[citation needed]. Left-handed spatulas exist, but are rare. The blade may be perforated with holes or slots allowing liquids to flow through.

In the kitchen

A common kitchen spatula design

In referring to kitchen utensils, spatula can often refer to any utensil fitting the above description. One variety is alternately referred to as a turner, and is used to lift and turn food items during cooking, such as pancakes and fillets. These are usually made of plastic, with a wooden or plastic handle to insulate them from heat.

Various long-handled scrapers can also be termed spatulas in American English, in particular bowl scrapers and plate scrapers.

[2][3]

Kitchen spatulas are usually made of plastic, with a wooden or plastic handle to insulate them from heat.

In popular culture

The "Weird Al" Yankovic comedy film UHF features an ad for a fictional outlet store called Spatula City that sells nothing but spatulas (of the "turner" variety). The ad features people getting very excited over receiving spatulas, including children at Christmas and women getting them as romantic gifts.

Related utensils

References

en:Spatula


Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - spatel, paletkniv

Nederlands (Dutch)
spatel

Français (French)
n. - (gén) spatule, abaisse-langue

Deutsch (German)
n. - Spatel, Spachtel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σπάτουλα

Italiano (Italian)
spatola

Português (Portuguese)
n. - espátula (f)

Русский (Russian)
шпатель, лопаточка

Español (Spanish)
n. - espátula

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - spatel, spackel, palettkniv, stekspade

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
抹刀, 小铲, 压舌板

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 抹刀, 小鏟, 壓舌板

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 약 숟가락, 압설자, (요리용) 프라이 뒤집개

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - へら, 舌押し器

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ألمبسط " ملعقه أو سكين ألصيدلاني يبسط بها ألمواد أو يمزجها "‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מרית, כף-מריחה‬


Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

Mentioned in

draw-down (in marketing)