oblonga

Oblonga is the feminine singular form of the Latin adjective oblongus, meaning oblong or elongated. In scientific Latin, oblongus has three gendered forms: oblongus (masculine), oblonga (feminine), and oblongum (neuter). Oblonga is used to modify feminine nouns and must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it describes.

In botanical and zoological descriptions, oblonga appears in phrases such as folia oblonga (oblong leaves) or petals oblonga. The form of the adjective changes with the gender of the noun: feminine nouns take oblonga, neuter nouns take oblongum, and masculine nouns take oblongus. This grammar also governs Latinized species epithets in taxonomic names, where the chosen form must agree with the genus gender.

A well-known example outside pure morphology is medulla oblongata, the brainstem region name in anatomy. There, oblongata is the feminine form agreeing with medulla.

In modern taxonomy and descriptive writing, oblonga may appear as an epithet referring to an elongated feature, but its exact form is determined by the gender of the genus it accompanies. English-language translations typically render the meaning as “oblong” or “oblong-shaped,” while the Latin oblonga reflects grammatical concord with the noun it modifies.

Overall, oblonga is chiefly a grammatical form used in Latin-based descriptions to convey an elongated shape, rather than a distinct biological taxon or concept. See also medulla oblongata for a familiar Latin usage in anatomy.