PATELLA Meaning of PATELLA in English [ pə'tɛlə ]■ noun ( plural ~e -li: ) Anatomy the kneecap.Derivatives~r adjective~te -lət adjective OriginC16: from L., dimin. of patina 'shallow dish'. Concise Oxford English vocab. Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка. 2004