Join free

patella

English · Français · Deutsch · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

patella¹

  • /pəˈtɛlə/ US

Where it comes from

From Latin patella (“a small pan or dish, a plate; the kneepan, patella”), diminutive of patina (“a broad shallow dish, pan”). Doublet of paella.

noun patellas · patellae

  1. The sesamoid bone of the knee; the kneecap. Subluxed patellas, more commonly referred to as slipped stifles, like all inherited factors will continue to cripple a breed as long as breeders continue to mate affected animals.

    Similar: kneecap, kneepan, rotula

  2. A little dish or vase.
  3. An orbicular sessile apothecium, with a marginal rim distinct from the thallus.

patella²

noun patellas

  1. alternative Alternative form of putelee (“type of boat”).

Patella³

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Italian Patella.

proper noun Patellas

  1. A surname from Italian.

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"patella." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/patella. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

patella. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/patella

Chicago

"patella." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/patella.

BibTeX
@misc{patella_2026,
  title = {patella},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/patella},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}