sinuate

Sinuate is an English term that can function as an adjective or a verb. As an adjective, it describes something that is curving and winding with gentle, rounded bends, or having margins that are not straight but waved or sinuous. As a verb, to sinuate means to move in a serpentine or meandering path, or to form a sinuous edge or contour.

Originating from Latin sinuatus, the past participle of sinuare meaning to bend, and from sinus meaning a curve or fold, sinuate carries the sense of bending in and out along a path or boundary.

In botany, sinuate describes leaf margins that exhibit a series of shallow, rounded indentations along the edge, producing a wavy margin rather than a straight or sharply serrated one. The term can also apply to petals or other plant organs that show similar margins or contours.

In geomorphology and geography, sinuate refers to landforms or channels that have pronounced but smooth bends. A sinuated coastline or riverscape indicates a meandering outline. Sinuosity is a related concept used to quantify how meandering a river or channel is, typically as the ratio of the actual channel length to the straight-line distance between endpoints.

Other uses extend to any moving or forming pattern that follows a sinuous, not strictly straight course, including the motion of vines, cables, or other flexible structures that twist and turn as they proceed.