English
spatula
Spatula comes from Latin spatula ‘a flat piece’, from Ancient Greek σπάθη ‘a broad wood or metal blade’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to do’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sph₂-dʰh₁-éh₂1uncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰā1‘blade’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθη2spáthē‘a broad wood or metal blade’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatha2‘broad or flat tool’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatula2‘a flat piece’diminutive form of spatha
- Englishearliest quotation 1963spatula2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σπάθη
- 2 Wiktionary, English spatula
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Ian Fleming: “The croupier delicately faced her other two cards with…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σπάθη‘to do’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sph₂-dʰh₁-éh₂Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σπάθηuncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰāWiktionary, Ancient Greek σπάθη‘blade’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθηWiktionary, English spatulaspáthē‘a broad wood or metal blade’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspathaWiktionary, English spatula‘broad or flat tool’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatulaWiktionary, English spatula‘a flat piece’diminutive form of spatha
- Englishearliest quotation 1963spatulaWiktionary, English spatula. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Ian Fleming: “The croupier delicately faced her other two cards with…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, mid, theme, defence, custom, feature, ethnic, sufficient, treasury, treasure, ethical, thesis, aesthetic, defendant, feast, synthetic, theology, doom, tick, deed, dis, ethic, auditorium, auditor, atheist, demi, deem, ethos, forfeit, feral, atheism, familial, 125 more
through Latin spatha ‘broad or flat tool’
through Latin spatula ‘a flat piece’
Today it means
noun A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting, or stirring food.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “spatula”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek σπάθη. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- / spatula