rótula

See also: rotula, rotulá, and ròtula

Galician

Noun

rótula f (plural rótulas)

1. (anatomy) patella, kneecap

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin rotula (“small wheel”). Doublet of rolha.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɔ.tu.lɐ/ [ˈhɔ.tu.lɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɔ.tu.lɐ/ [ˈhɔ.tu.lɐ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɔ.tu.lɐ/ [ˈχɔ.tu.lɐ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɔ.tu.lɐ/

• Hyphenation: ró‧tu‧la

Noun

rótula f (plural rótulas)

1. (anatomy) kneecap

   Synonym: patela

2. (São Paulo, Bahia, South Brazil) roundabout

   Synonyms: (Brazil) rotatória, (Portugal) rotunda, (Brazil) balão, (Brazil) queijinho, (Brazil) círculo

Hypernyms

• (kneecap): osso

Further reading

• “rótula”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “rótula”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed directly from Latin rotula. Doublet of rol.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrotula/ [ˈro.t̪u.la]
• Rhymes: -otula
• Syllabification: ró‧tu‧la

Noun

rótula f (plural rótulas)

1. (anatomy) kneecap, patella

Further reading

• “rótula”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025