Lunate
Noun
- A crescent-shaped carpal bone situated in the center of the wrist and articulating with the radius.
Adjective
- Crescent-shaped.
Example Sentences
“My 3-year-old went through a stage of only wanting to eat lunate food.”
“The lunate moon still shines enough light to see my way on the path.”
“The lunate shape of the boomerang makes it sail back after I throw it.”
Word Origin
Latin, late 18th century
Why this word?
The word “luna” is likely familiar to you — it’s the Latin for “”moon,”” and we see it most clearly in the English adjective for anything related to the moon, “lunar.” (The words “lunacy” and “lunatic” were coined in the 16th century because it was believed that a certain type of intermittent insanity was related to the changes in the moon.) The word “lunate” is also related to the moon, but it specifically pertains to the crescent moon. “Lunate” is an adjective meaning “crescent-shaped,” and it’s commonly used in anatomy or botany to describe things with a crescent, or curved structure.
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