palpar

Palpar is a Spanish verb meaning to touch or feel with the fingers or hands, especially to examine by touch or to assess texture, size, or condition. It can refer to physical contact with objects or living beings and often implies a deliberate, careful touch. In medical contexts, palpation is a standard examination technique used to assess organs, detect tenderness, masses, or fluid, and to gauge consistency or size. Outside medicine, palpar can describe feeling the texture of materials, checking temperature, or assessing a situation by touch, as in palpar el terreno or palpar el ambiente.

Etymology: Palpar comes from Latin palpāre, to touch lightly or stroke. The word entered Spanish through the medieval period and remains a regular -ar verb.

Conjugation and usage: In the present indicative, the forms are yo palpo, tú palpas, él/ella palpa, nosotros palpamos, vosotros palpáis, ellos palpan. It is commonly used with direct objects or reflexive constructions, and it is interchangeable with other verbs of touching or feeling in appropriate contexts.

Related terms: Palpación (the act or technique of palpation), palpable (tangible or perceptible), and palpatorio (relating to palpation). The root also appears in English as palpation, with Palpable as an adjective.

See also: Palpación; medical examination techniques involving touch; and metaphorical uses such as palpar el terreno to describe gauging a situation by feel rather than by measurement.