palatal

English

WOTD – 23 October 2011, 23 October 2012, 23 October 2013, 23 October 2014

Etymology

From palate +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpælətl̩/, /pəˈleɪtl̩/
• (General American) enPR: păl′ə-tl, IPA^(key): /ˈpælətl̩/
• Rhymes: -ælətəl, -eɪtəl
• Hyphenation: pal‧a‧tal

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

palatal (comparative more palatal, superlative most palatal)

1. (anatomy) Pertaining to the palate.
2. (dentistry, not comparable) Of an upper tooth, on the side facing the palate.
3. (phonetics) Articulated at the hard palate.
4. (phonetics, uncommon) Articulated at the palate: dorsal.

Coordinate terms

dentistry location adjectivesedit

• anterior
• apical
• apicocoronal
• axial
• buccal
• buccoapical
• buccocervical
• buccogingival
• buccolabial
• buccolingual
• bucco-occlusal
• buccopalatal
• cervical
• coronal
• coronoapical
• distal
• distoapical
• distobuccal
• distocclusal
• distocervical
• distoclusal
• distocoronal
• distofacial
• distogingival
• distoincisal
• distolingual
• disto-occlusal
• distopalatal
• facial
• gingival
• incisal
• incisocervical
• inferior
• labial
• lingual
• linguobuccal
• linguo-occlusal
• mandibular
• maxillary
• mesial
• mesioapical
• mesiobuccal
• mesiocclusal
• mesiocervical
• mesioclusal
• mesiocoronal
• mesiodistal
• mesiofacial
• mesiogingival
• mesioincisal
• mesiolingual
• mesio-occlusal
• mesiopalatal
• occlusal
• palatal
• posterior
• proximal
• superior
• vestibular

Derived terms

• alveolo-palatal
• alveolopalatal
• alveo-palatal
• alveopalatal
• antepalatal
• anteropalatal
• apicopalatal
• basipalatal
• buccopalatal
• ethmopalatal
• glossopalatal
• labial-palatal
• labio-palatal
• labiopalatal
• labio-palatalisation
• labiopalatalisation
• labiopalatalised
• labio-palatalised
• labio-palatalization
• labiopalatalization
• labio-palatalized
• labiopalatalized
• linguopalatal
• linguo-palatal
• maxillopalatal
• mediopalatal
• midpalatal
• nasopalatal
• nonpalatal
• oculopalatal
• palatal expander
• palatal hook
• palatalisation
• palatalise
• palatalised
• palatalism
• palatality
• palatalization
• palatalize
• palatalized
• palatally
• palato-
• palato-alveolar
• palatoalveolar
• post-palatal
• postpalatal
• pre-palatal
• prepalatal
• retropalatal
• salpingopalatal
• transpalatal
• unpalatalize
• uvulopalatal
• velopalatal

Related terms

• hard palate, soft palate
• palate
• palatic
• palatine

Translations

pertaining to the palate

• Armenian: քիմքի (kʻimkʻi), քմային (hy) (kʻmayin)
• Bulgarian: на небцето (na nebceto)
• Catalan: palatal
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 硬齶的 / 硬腭的 (yìng'è de)

• Finnish: maku- (fi)
• French: palatal (fr)
• German: palatal (de)
• Indonesian: palatal (id)
• Malay: lelangit (ms), palatal
• Manx: cleaoil
• Polish: podniebienny (pl)
• Portuguese: palatal (pt), palatino (pt)
• Russian: нёбный (njóbnyj)
• Spanish: palatal (es)
• Swedish: gom-
• Turkish: damaksıl (tr)
• Ukrainian: піднебі́нний (pidnebínnyj)
• Welsh: taflodol

(dentistry) on the side facing the palate

• Finnish: palataalinen (fi)
• French: palatal (fr)
• Malay: lelangit (ms), palatal
• Turkish: damaksıl (tr)

(phonetics) articulated at the hard palate

• Arabic: غَارِيّ (ḡāriyy)
• Armenian: քմային (hy) (kʻmayin)
• Burmese: တာလုဇ (my) (talu.ja.)
• Catalan: palatal
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 硬齶 / 硬腭 (yìng'è)

• Danish: palatal (da)
• Finnish: palataalinen (fi)
• French: palatal (fr)
• German: palatal (de)
• Greek: ουρανικός (el) (ouranikós)
• Icelandic: framgómmæltur
• Irish: carballach, pailitiúil
• Malay: lelangit (ms), palatal
• Manx: cleaoil
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: тагнайн (mn) (tagnajn)

  Mongolian: ᠲᠠᠩᠨᠠᠶ ᠵᠢᠨ (tangnay-ǰin)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: palatal

  Nynorsk: palatal

• Polish: palatalny, podniebienny (pl), twardopodniebienny
• Portuguese: palatal (pt)
• Russian: палата́льный (ru) (palatálʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: palatach
• Spanish: palatal (es)
• Swedish: palatal (sv)
• Turkish: damaksıl (tr)
• Ukrainian: палата́льний (palatálʹnyj), піднебі́нний (pidnebínnyj)
• Welsh: taflodol

Noun

palatal (plural palatals)

1. (phonetics) A palatal consonant.

Translations

(phonetics) palatal consonant

• Armenian: քմային հնչյուն (kʻmayin hnčʻyun)
• Catalan: palatal f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 硬齶輔音 / 硬腭辅音 (yìng'è fǔyīn)

• Danish: palatallyd c
• Finnish: palataali (fi), lakiäänne (fi)
• German: Vordergaumenlaut m, Palatal (de) m
• Malayalam: താലവ്യം (ml) (tālavyaṁ)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: тагнайн гийгүүлэгч (tagnajn giigüülegč)

  Mongolian: ᠲᠠᠩᠨᠠᠢ ᠵᠢᠨ
  ᠭᠡᠢᠢᠭᠦᠯᠦᠭᠴᠢ (tangnai-ǰin geiigülüɣči)

• Russian: палатальный звук (palatalʹnyj zvuk)
• Slovene: trdonebnik m
• Spanish: palatal (es) f
• Swedish: palatal (sv) c
• Thai: เสียงเพดานแข็ง
• Turkish: damaksıl ünsüz

Anagrams

• La Plata

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin palātum +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [pə.ləˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [pa.laˈtal]

Adjective

palatal m or f (masculine and feminine plural palatals)

1. (anatomy, relational) palate; palatal

   Synonym: palatí

Derived terms

• ela palatal
• palatalitzar

Noun

palatal f (plural palatals)

1. (phonetics) palatal (a palatal consonant)

Related terms

• paladar

Further reading

• “palatal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “palatal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “palatal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “palatal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Adjective

palatal

1. (phonetics) palatal

Inflection

Inflection of palatal

	positive	comparative	superlative
indefinite common singular	palatal	—	—2
indefinite neuter singular	palatalt	—	—2
plural	palatale	—	—2
definite attributive1	palatale	—	—

¹ When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
² The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Further reading

• “palatal” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

From Latin palātum +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa.la.tal/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Adjective

palatal (feminine palatale, masculine plural palataux, feminine plural palatales)

1. (anatomy, phonetics) palatal

Derived terms

• palataliser

Related terms

• palais
• palatalisation
• palatalisé

Further reading

• “palatal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Etymology

Palatum +‎ -al

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /palaˈtaːl/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

palatal (strong nominative masculine singular palataler, not comparable)

1. palatal

Declension

Positive forms of palatal (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist palatal	sie ist palatal	es ist palatal	sie sind palatal
strong declension (without article)	nominative	palataler	palatale	palatales	palatale
	genitive	palatalen	palataler	palatalen	palataler
	dative	palatalem	palataler	palatalem	palatalen
	accusative	palatalen	palatale	palatales	palatale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der palatale	die palatale	das palatale	die palatalen
	genitive	des palatalen	der palatalen	des palatalen	der palatalen
	dative	dem palatalen	der palatalen	dem palatalen	den palatalen
	accusative	den palatalen	die palatale	das palatale	die palatalen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein palataler	eine palatale	ein palatales	(keine) palatalen
	genitive	eines palatalen	einer palatalen	eines palatalen	(keiner) palatalen
	dative	einem palatalen	einer palatalen	einem palatalen	(keinen) palatalen
	accusative	einen palatalen	eine palatale	ein palatales	(keine) palatalen

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch palataal (“palatal”), from French palatal.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /paˈlatal/ [paˈla.t̪al]
• Rhymes: -atal
• Syllabification: pa‧la‧tal

Adjective

palatal (comparative lebih palatal, superlative paling palatal)

1. palatal
   1. (anatomy) pertaining to the palate.
   2. (anatomy, dentistry) of an upper tooth, on the side facing the palate.
   3. (phonetics) articulated at the hard palate.
   4. (phonetics) articulated at the palate: dorsal.

Noun

palatal (uncountable)

1. palatal (palatal consonant)

Further reading

• “palatal”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /pa.laˈtaw/ [pa.laˈtaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɐ.lɐˈtal/ [pɐ.lɐˈtaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɐ.lɐˈtal/ [pɐ.lɐˈtaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɐ.lɐˈta.li/

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: pa‧la‧tal

Adjective

palatal m or f (plural palatais)

1. (anatomy) palatal (pertaining to the palate)

   Synonym: palatino

2. (phonetics) palatal (articulated at the hard palate)

Derived terms

• palatalizar

Noun

palatal f (plural palatais)

1. (phonetics) palatal (consonant articulated at the hard palate)

Related terms

• palato

Further reading

• “palatal”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “palatal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French palatal. By surface analysis, palat (palate) +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa.laˈtal/
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

palatal m or n (feminine singular palatală, masculine plural palatali, feminine/neuter plural palatale)

1. palatal

Declension

Declension of palatal

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	palatal		palatală		palatali	palatale
	definite	palatalul		palatala		palatalii	palatalele
genitive- dative	indefinite	palatal		palatale		palatali	palatale
	definite	palatalului		palatalei		palatalilor	palatalelor

Related terms

• palataliza

Further reading

• “palatal”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /palǎtaːl/
• Hyphenation: pa‧la‧tal

Noun

palàtāl m inan (Cyrillic spelling пала̀та̄л)

1. palatal

Declension

Declension of palatal

	singular	plural
nominative	palàtāl	palatali
genitive	palatála	palatala
dative	palatalu	palatalima
accusative	palatal	palatale
vocative	palatale	palatali
locative	palatalu	palatalima
instrumental	palatalom	palatalima

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin palātum +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /palaˈtal/ [pa.laˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: pa‧la‧tal

Adjective

palatal m or f (masculine and feminine plural palatales)

1. palatal

   Synonym: palatino

Derived terms

• palatalizar

Noun

palatal f (plural palatales)

1. palatal

Related terms

• paladar

Further reading

• “palatal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Swedish

Etymology

From Latin palātum +‎ -al

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /palaˈtɑːl/

Adjective

palatal (not comparable)

1. (phonology, phonetics) palatal

Declension

Inflection of palatal

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	palatal	—	—
neuter singular	palatalt	—	—
plural	palatala	—	—
masculine plural2	palatale	—	—
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	palatale	—	—
all	palatala	—	—

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Noun

palatal c

1. (phonetics, phonology) palatal consonant

Declension

Declension of palatal

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	palatal	palatals
	definite	palatalen	palatalens
plural	indefinite	palataler	palatalers
	definite	palatalerna	palatalernas

References

• palatal in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• palatal in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• palatal in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)