spatula

Meaning

Noun

• A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting or stirring food.
• A kitchen utensil consisting of a flexible surface attached to a long handle, used for scraping the sides of bowls.
• A palette knife.
• A thin hand tool, often made of nickel, for handling chemicals or other materials, when weighing, etc.
• A croupier's tool for turning up cards in a casino.
• A sclerotized, T-shaped plate in the prothorax of larvae of flies belonging to family Cecidomyiidae, the gall midges.

Origin

• Borrowed from Latin spatula ("a flat piece"), the diminutive form of spatha, from Ancient Greek σπάθη ("a broad wood or metal blade"). spauld; compare spatha and spathe.