falcate

American  

[fal-keyt] / ˈfæl keɪt /

Also falcated

adjective

1. curved like a scythe or sickle; hooked; falciform.

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falcate British  

/ ˈfælsɪˌfɔːm, ˈfælkeɪt /

adjective

1. biology shaped like a sickle

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Other Word Forms

• subfalcate adjective

Etymology

Origin of falcate

1820–30; < Latin falcātus sickle-shaped, equivalent to falc- (stem of falx ) sickle + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The dorsal fin is generally moderately falcate, but may be almost triangular in adult males.

From Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic A Guide to Their Identification by Caldwell, David

The dorsal fin is slender, falcate, and pointed on the tip.

From Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic A Guide to Their Identification by Caldwell, David

Note the falcate dorsal fin, which often, as here, is dark on the border, lighter near the center.

From Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic A Guide to Their Identification by Caldwell, David

Pod flat, oblong, often falcate, few–several-seeded.—Low perennial herbs, or woody at base, punctate with black glands, with bipinnate leaves, and naked racemes of yellow flowers opposite the leaves or terminal.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

Both pygmy killer whales and many-toothed blackfish have dorsal fins, which are more falcate, slender, and pointed on the tip, and have longer, slenderer heads.

From Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic A Guide to Their Identification by Caldwell, David