palatal

[ pal-uh-tl ]

adjective

1. Anatomy. of or relating to the palate.
2. Phonetics. articulated with the blade of the tongue held close to or touching the hard palate.

noun

1. Phonetics. a palatal consonant.

palatal

/ ˈpælətəl /

adjective

1. Also calledpalatine of or relating to the palate
2. phonetics of, relating to, or denoting a speech sound articulated with the blade of the tongue touching the hard palate

noun

1. Also calledpalatine the bony plate that forms the palate
2. phonetics a palatal speech sound, such as the semivowel (j)

Derived Forms

• ˈpalatally, adverb

Other Words From

• pala·tal·ism pala·tali·ty noun
• pala·tal·ly adverb
• non·pala·tal adjective noun
• pre·pala·tal adjective
• un·pala·tal adjective
• un·pala·tal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of palatal¹

From French, dating back to 1820–30; palate, -al ¹

Example Sentences

The palatal organ of fish such as minnows, carp, and catfish can also be a bundle of muscle, but biologists are split on whether it should be considered a tongue.

From Science Magazine

Using nothing more than palatal expanders, dietary changes, the force of the tongue and an appliance the family invented called the Biobloc, the Mews claim that they can counteract the effects of modernity while children are still growing.

From New York Times

Rubenstein was planning to create for him a palatal lift prosthesis — a removable prosthesis that, when placed in the mouth, is retained on several upper teeth and is designed to elevate the soft palate to its intended position, where it can facilitate and normalize speech and swallowing.

From Seattle Times

Their study focused on high-resolution CT data from the weird, limbless aïstopods: they show how these animals are more archaic in palatal and braincase structure than previously thought, the result being that they’re recovered in a surprising, early-diverging position within Tetrapoda.

From Scientific American

Scientists first identified this palatal organ in the monster ghost shark in 2015.

From National Geographic