▪ I. palpate, v.
(ˈpælpeɪt)
[f. ppl. stem of L. palpāre to palp.]
trans. To examine by the sense of touch; to feel; spec. as a method of medical examination. Also absol. or intr.
| 1849–52 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 1151/1 The bird sifts and strains..the mud and water which it palpates in search of food. 1898 Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 655 Its [the spleen's] rounded margin can be readily palpated. 1901 W. Osler Princ. & Pract. Med. (ed. 4) 25 There may be early muscle rigidity and increased tension, and spasm on any attempt to palpate. 1963 D. G. W. Clyne Textbk. Gynaecol. & Obstetr. xv. 374 The examiner..then gently palpates with the pulps of the fingers so as to distinguish between the soft, wedge-shaped breech and the hard, round ballottable head. |
Hence palˈpating ppl. a.
| 1901 G. R. Butler Diagnostics Internal Med. xxxiii. 431 The re-enforcement of the palpating hand by the other preserves the perceptive delicacy which the former would otherwise lose. 1974 Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. ii. xxxix. 15/1 If the palpating fingers on the appropriate side can reach below the occipital prominence..the head is not engaged. |
▪ II. ˈpalpate, a. rare.
[ad. mod.L. palpāt-us.]
Furnished with palps.
| 1857 [see palpal]. |