‖ spatula
(ˈspætjʊlə)
[L. spatula, var. of spathula spathula, dim. of spatha spatha. Cf. Sp. espatula, It. spatola.
The erroneous form spattular occurs in Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1607) 511. For Anglicized forms see spatule, spatul, spattle n.2, spartle n., also (with change of ending) spature and spatter n.1]
1. A simple implement of wood, ivory, or metal, having a flat elongated form with various modifications of shape and size, used for a variety of purposes: a. For stirring mixtures (esp. of a medical nature), spreading ointments or plasters, etc.
| 1525 tr. Jerome of Brunswick's Surg. C iv/2 Take a spatula & styrre all these togeder. 1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 45/1 Reverberate the same dilligentlye with the spatula, and it will be the better. 1639 T. de la Grey Expert Farrier 305 Laid on a spatula plaister-wise. 1669 W. Simpson Hydrol. Chym. 187 Over which fume..we directly plac'd a spatula. 1683 Pettus Fleta Min. i. (1686) 162 Stir it about continually with a wooden spatula. 1718 Quincy Compl. Disp. 15 We many times stir the Body that is to be calcin'd with a Spatula, or else mix it with something else. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 40 Take some cotton, and with a spatula..work that, the nitre and the brandy together. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 382 Being stirred with a spatula till the whole becomes incorporated. 1837 Flemish Husb. 61 in L.U.K. III, The butter..is well washed and worked with..a kind of spatula or flat spoon. 1873 Spon Workshop Rec. Ser. i. 18/1 The mixture is removed from the stone by a spatula. |
b. For minor surgical operations or for the medical examination of certain organs.
| 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. ii. 45 This Scab..hath fallen off, by the help onely of a Spatula. 1694 Phil. Trans. XVIII. 220 With a small Spatula..she pick'd out five or six Worms at a time. 1755 Gentl. Mag. XXV. 39 The tongue..must be loosened with a spatula. 1803 Med. Jrnl. X. 330 He ordered the patient to take in his mouth a silver spatula, to which the conducting chain had been adapted. 1853 Lowell Lett. (1894) I. iii. 222 There is no spatula with which you can hold the Public's tongue while you force things down their throat. 1879 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. II. 5 This is best done by introducing the little finger or a spatula into the nostril. |
c. For technical operations of various kinds.
| 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 306 The strip of bark..being raised up..by the spatula of the budding-knife. 1865 Lubbock Preh. Times xi. 358 The pottery was all made by women. Their tools were very simple, consisting of..a flat mallet or spatula for the surface [etc.]. 1883 Harper's Mag. Oct. 775 The few..tools of the craft—chisel, hammer, spatula—lay in various places. 1887 D. Maguire Art Massage ii. (ed. 4) 22 We give this name [i.e. palette] to a kind of spatula in the shape of a battledoor with a long handle. |
2. A ferule. rare—1.
| 1830 A. E. Bray Fitz of Fitz-ford iii. (1884) 29 A large birchen rod,..and a wooden spatula, to inflict punishment on the hand. |
3. Ornith. The roseate spoonbill.
| 1872 Routledge's Every Boy's Annual 138 The rose-coloured spatula, a bird that frequents lakes and rivers [in America], and lives on fish. |
4. attrib., as spatula-hand, spatula-hook; † spatula-bird, a spoonbill.
| 1750 London Mag. May 224/2 As to the Spatula-bird,..it is a kind of water fowl, of the goose or duck kind. 1861 Pearson Early & Mid. Ages vii. 66 The spatula hand..is rather that of a mechanician than an artist. 1895 Arnold & Sons' Catal. Surg. Instrum. 145 Spatula Hook.., in ivory handle. |
5. Comb., as spatula-like, spatula-shaped.
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 100 The spatula-shaped leaves appear at the end of these branches. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. xlvi. 263 Spatulate,..spatula-shaped. Broader and rounded at the apex, linear and narrow at the base. 1834 M{supc}Murtrie Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 150 Their bill..becoming widened and flattened..so as to form a spatula-like disk. 1880 I. L. Bird Japan II. 93 A spatula-shaped shuttle of engraved wood. |