What does palmate mean?
Palmate is a formal adjective meaning shaped like the open palm of a hand. Its most common use is botanical: a palmate leaf has its main veins or lobes radiating from a single point near the base of the blade, much as fingers spread from the center of the palm. This structure distinguishes palmate leaves from pinnate leaves, whose leaflets are arranged along a central stalk. Zoologists also use palmate to describe feet whose toes are connected by webbing, as in ducks and other water birds. The word is more precise than simply "hand-shaped," because it often suggests an organized pattern of radiating parts rather than an arbitrary resemblance. It is therefore useful in botanical identification guides, anatomical descriptions, and other technical contexts where the arrangement and symmetry of a structure matter. Outside specialist writing, palmate may sound unfamiliar, but its Latin-derived sense makes it a vivid and memorable way to describe structures that spread like fingers from the center of a hand.
adjectiveShaped like the open palm of a hand, especially having lobes, veins, or other parts that radiate from a central point. In zoological descriptions, it can also refer to feet with webbing between the toes.
- Having a palm-like shape, especially with lobes, veins, or divisions radiating from a central point like fingers from a palm.
- In zoology, describing a foot with webbing between the toes.
"The guide noted the beaver's broad, palmate hind feet."
"The palmate leaves of the sycamore spread broadly across the tree's crown."
"The field guide identifies the species partly by its palmate feet."
Palmate literally means "of the palm of the hand": the word's fingers are the leaf lobes or veins radiating from a central stalk.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does palmate come from?
Palmate entered English in the early 17th century from Latin palmatus, an adjective derived from palma, meaning the palm of the hand. Its original sense was "shaped like the palm of the hand," which developed into specialized botanical and zoological descriptions. Related words include the English adjectives palmar and palmary, while palmetto belongs to the same broader Latin palm- family through Spanish.
Related word forms
How palmate is actually used
This is chiefly a formal, descriptive adjective used in botany, zoology, anatomy, and related technical writing. In a botanical context, it usually contrasts with pinnate, whose leaflets are arranged along either side of a central axis.
Easily confused with palmate
A palm is the tree or the inner surface of the hand, whereas palmate is an adjective describing something shaped or divided like that surface.