From Latin spatula 'small flat blade,' diminutive of spatha — a doublet of 'spade.'
A flat tool with a broad blade used for mixing, spreading, or lifting food.
From Latin spatula, diminutive of spatha 'broad blade, broad sword,' from Greek spáthē 'broad blade, flat piece of wood.' The same Greek word gave us 'spade' (digging tool) through a separate Germanic borrowing route. Key roots: *speh₂- (Proto-Indo-European: "to draw out, stretch").