Spatula
Flexible, wide blade used to lift, mix, or spread materials / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A spatula is a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift material[1] including foods, drugs, plaster and paints.
This article is about the mixing tool. For other uses, see Spatula (disambiguation).
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Roman_spatulas.jpg/320px-Roman_spatulas.jpg)
In medical applications, "spatula" may also be used synonymously with tongue depressor.[2]
The word spatula derives from the Latin word for a flat piece of wood or splint, a diminutive form of the Latin spatha, meaning 'broadsword', and hence can also refer to a tongue depressor. The words spade (digging tool) and spathe are similarly derived. The word spatula has been used in English since 1525.[3]