Adjacent Words

Plate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PLATE, n. [L. Latus, with the radical sense of laid, spread.]
1. A piece of metal, flat or extended in breadth.
2. Armor of plate, composed of broad pieces, and thus distinguished from mail.
3. A piece of wrought silver, as a dish or other shallow vessel; hence, vessels of silver; wrought silver in general. Plate, by the laws of some states, is subject to a tax by the ounce.
4. A small shallow vessel, made of silver or other metal, or of earth glazed and baked, from which provisions are eaten at table. A wooden plate is called a trencher.
5. The prize given for the best horse in a race.
6. In architecture, the piece of timber which supports the ends of the rafters. [See Platform.]
PLATE, v.t. To cover or overlay with plate or with metal; used particularly of silver; as plated vessels.
1. To arm with plate or metal for defense; as, to plate sin with gold.
Why plated in habiliments of war?
2. To adorn with place; as a plated harness.
3. To beat into thin flat pieces or lamens.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score; "he ruled that the runner failed to touch home" [syn: home plate, home base, home, plate]
2: a sheet of metal or wood or glass or plastic
3: a full-page illustration (usually on slick paper)
4: dish on which food is served or from which food is eaten
5: the quantity contained in a plate [syn: plate, plateful]
6: a rigid layer of the Earth's crust that is believed to drift slowly [syn: plate, crustal plate]
7: the thin under portion of the forequarter
8: a main course served on a plate; "a vegetable plate"; "the blue plate special"
9: any flat platelike body structure or part
10: the positively charged electrode in a vacuum tube
11: a flat sheet of metal or glass on which a photographic image can be recorded [syn: plate, photographic plate]
12: structural member consisting of a horizontal beam that provides bearing and anchorage
13: a shallow receptacle for collection in church [syn: plate, collection plate]
14: a metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners) [syn: plate, scale, shell]
15: a dental appliance that artificially replaces missing teeth [syn: denture, dental plate, plate] v
1: coat with a layer of metal; "plate spoons with silver"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from plate, feminine of plat flat, from Vulgar Latin *plattus, probably from Greek platys broad, flat — more at place Date: 14th century 1. a. a smooth flat thin piece of material b. (1) forged, rolled, or cast metal in sheets usually thicker than 1/4 inch (6 millimeters) (2) a very thin layer of metal deposited on a surface of base metal by plating c. one of the broad metal pieces used in armor; also armor of such plates d. (1) a thin relatively flat anatomical part (as a lamina of bone) of an animal body; especially scute (2) the thin under portion of the forequarter of beef; especially the fatty back part — see beef illustration e. home plate f. any of the large movable segments into which the earth's lithosphere is divided according to the theory of plate tectonics 2. [Middle English; partly from Anglo-French plate plate, bullion; partly from Old Spanish plata silver, from Vulgar Latin *platta metal plate, from feminine of plattus flat] a. obsolete a silver coin b. precious metal; especially silver bullion 3. [Middle English, from Anglo-French plat, plate dish, plate, from plat flat] a. domestic hollowware made of or plated with gold, silver, or base metals b. a shallow usually circular vessel from which food is eaten or served c. (1) a quantity to fill a plate ; plateful (2) a main course served on a plate (3) food and service supplied to one person <a dinner at $10 a plate> d. (1) a prize given to the winner in a contest (2) British a horse race in which the contestants compete for a prize of fixed value rather than stakes e. a dish or pouch passed during collections f. a flat glass or plastic dish used chiefly for culturing microorganisms 4. a. a prepared surface from which printing is done b. a sheet of material (as glass or plastic) coated with a light-sensitive photographic emulsion c. a metallic grid with its interstices filled with active material that forms one of the structural units of a battery d. license plate 5. a horizontal structural member that provides bearing and anchorage especially for the trusses of a roof or the rafters 6. the part of a denture that fits to the mouth; broadly denture 7. a full-page illustration often on different paper from the text pages 8. a schedule of matters to deal with <have a lot on my plate now> • platelike adjective II. transitive verb (plated; plating) Date: 14th century 1. to cover or equip with plate: as a. to provide with armor plate b. to cover with an adherent layer mechanically, chemically, or electrically; also to deposit (as a layer) on a surface 2. to make a printing surface from or for 3. to fix or secure with a plate 4. to cause (as a runner) to score in baseball 5. to arrange (food) on a plate

U.S. Military Dictionary

(*) 1. In cartography: a. a printing plate of zinc, aluminum, or engraved copper; b. collective term for all "states" of an engraved map reproduced from the same engraved printing plate; c. all detail to appear on a map or chart which will be reproduced from a single printing plate (e.g., the "blue plate" or the "contour plate"). 2. In photography, a transparent medium, usually glass, coated with a photographic emulsion. See also diapositive.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a shallow vessel, usu. circular and of earthenware or china, from which food is eaten or served. b the contents of this (ate a plate of sandwiches). 2 a similar vessel usu. of metal or wood, used esp. for making a collection in a church etc. 3 US a main course of a meal, served on one plate. 4 Austral. & NZ a contribution of cakes, sandwiches, etc., to a social gathering. 5 (collect.) a utensils of silver, gold, or other metal. b objects of plated metal. 6 a piece of metal with a name or inscription for affixing to a door, container, etc. 7 an illustration on special paper in a book. 8 a thin sheet of metal, glass, etc., coated with a sensitive film for photography. 9 a flat thin usu. rigid sheet of metal etc. with an even surface and uniform thickness, often as part of a mechanism. 10 a a smooth piece of metal etc. for engraving. b an impression made from this. 11 a a silver or gold cup as a prize for a horse-race etc. b a race with this as a prize. 12 a a thin piece of plastic material, moulded to the shape of the mouth and gums, to which artificial teeth or another orthodontic appliance are attached. b colloq. a complete denture or orthodontic appliance. 13 Geol. each of several rigid sheets of rock thought to form the earth's outer crust. 14 Biol. a thin flat organic structure or formation. 15 a light shoe for a racehorse. 16 a stereotype, electrotype, or plastic cast of a page of composed movable types, or a metal or plastic copy of filmset matter, from which sheets are printed. 17 US Baseball a flat piece of whitened rubber marking the station of a batter or pitcher. 18 US the anode of a thermionic valve. 19 a horizontal timber laid along the top of a wall to support the ends of joists or rafters (window-plate). --v.tr. 1 apply a thin coat esp. of silver, gold, or tin to (another metal). 2 cover (esp. a ship) with plates of metal, esp. for protection. 3 make a plate of (type etc.) for printing. Phrases and idioms: on a plate colloq. available with little trouble to the recipient. on one's plate for one to deal with or consider. plate armour armour of metal plates, for a man, ship, etc. plate glass thick fine-quality glass for shop windows etc., orig. cast in plates. plate-rack Brit. a rack in which plates are placed to drain. plate tectonics Geol. the study of the earth's surface based on the concept of moving 'plates' (see sense 13 of n.) forming its structure. plate tracery Archit. tracery with perforations in otherwise continuous stone. Derivatives: plateful n. (pl. -fuls). plateless adj. plater n. Etymology: ME f. OF f. med.L plata plate armour f. platus (adj.) ult. f. Gk platus flat

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plasmon butter Plasmon butter, and resembles clotted cream in appearance. Plate Plate, n. 1. (Baseball) A small five-sided area (enveloping a diamond-shaped area one foot square) beside which the batter stands and which must be touched by some part of a player on completing a run; -- called also home base, or home plate. 2. One of the thin parts of the bricket of an animal. 3. A very light steel racing horsehoe. 4. Loosely, a sporting contest for a prize; specif., in horse racing, a race for a prize, the contestants not making a stake. 5. Skins for fur linings of garments, sewed together and roughly shaped, but not finally cut or fitted. [Furrier's Cant] 6. (Hat Making) The fine nap (as of beaver, hare's wool, musquash, nutria, or English black wool) on a hat the body of which is of an inferior substance.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plate Plate, n. [OF. plate a plate of metal, a cuirsas, F. plat a plate, a shallow vessel of silver, other metal, or earth, fr. plat flat, Gr. ?. See Place, n.] 1. A flat, or nearly flat, piece of metal, the thickness of which is small in comparison with the other dimensions; a thick sheet of metal; as, a steel plate. 2. Metallic armor composed of broad pieces. Mangled . . . through plate and mail. --Milton. 3. Domestic vessels and utensils, as flagons, dishes, cups, etc., wrought in gold or silver. 4. Metallic ware which is plated, in distinction from that which is genuine silver or gold. 5. A small, shallow, and usually circular, vessel of metal or wood, or of earth glazed and baked, from which food is eaten at table. 6. [Cf. Sp. plata silver.] A piece of money, usually silver money. [Obs.] ``Realms and islands were as plates dropp'd from his pocket.'' --Shak. 7. A piece of metal on which anything is engraved for the purpose of being printed; hence, an impression from the engraved metal; as, a book illustrated with plates; a fashion plate. 8. A page of stereotype, electrotype, or the like, for printing from; as, publisher's plates. 9. That part of an artificial set of teeth which fits to the mouth, and holds the teeth in place. It may be of gold, platinum, silver, rubber, celluloid, etc. 10. (Arch.) A horizontal timber laid upon a wall, or upon corbels projecting from a wall, and supporting the ends of other timbers; also used specifically of the roof plate which supports the ends of the roof trusses or, in simple work, the feet of the rafters. 11. (Her.) A roundel of silver or tinctured argent. 12. (Photog.) A sheet of glass, porcelain, metal, etc., with a coating that is sensitive to light. 13. A prize giving to the winner in a contest. Note: Plate is sometimes used in an adjectival sense or in combination, the phrase or compound being in most cases of obvious signification; as, plate basket or plate-basket, plate rack or plate-rack. Home plate. (Baseball) See Home base, under Home. Plate armor. (a) See Plate, n., 2. (b) Strong metal plates for protecting war vessels, fortifications, and the like. Plate bone, the shoulder blade, or scapula. Plate girder, a girder, the web of which is formed of a single vertical plate, or of a series of such plates riveted together. Plate glass. See under Glass. Plate iron, wrought iron plates. Plate layer, a workman who lays down the rails of a railway and fixes them to the sleepers or ties. Plate mark, a special mark or emblematic figure stamped upon gold or silver plate, to indicate the place of manufacture, the degree of purity, and the like; thus, the local mark for London is a lion. Plate paper, a heavy spongy paper, for printing from engraved plates. --Fairholt. Plate press, a press with a flat carriage and a roller, -- used for printing from engraved steel or copper plates. Plate printer, one who prints from engraved plates. Plate printing, the act or process of printing from an engraved plate or plates. Plate tracery. (Arch.) See under Tracery. Plate wheel (Mech.), a wheel, the rim and hub of which are connected by a continuous plate of metal, instead of by arms or spokes.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plate Plate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plated; p. pr. & vb. n. Plating.] 1. To cover or overlay with gold, silver, or other metals, either by a mechanical process, as hammering, or by a chemical process, as electrotyping. 2. To cover or overlay with plates of metal; to arm with metal for defense. Thus plated in habiliments of war. --Shak. 3. To adorn with plated metal; as, a plated harness. 4. To beat into thin, flat pieces, or lamin[ae]. 5. To calender; as, to plate paper.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(plates) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A plate is a round or oval flat dish that is used to hold food. Anita pushed her plate away; she had eaten virtually nothing. N-COUNT • A plate of food is the amount of food on the plate. ...a huge plate of bacon and eggs. N-COUNT: usu N of n 2. A plate is a flat piece of metal, especially on machinery or a building. N-COUNT 3. A plate is a small, flat piece of metal with someone's name written on it, which you usually find beside the front door of an office or house. N-COUNT 4. On a road vehicle, the plates are the panels at the front and back which display the license number in the United States, and the registration number in Britain. ...dusty-looking cars with New Jersey plates. N-PLURAL see also number plate, license plate 5. Plate is dishes, bowls, and cups that are made of precious metal, especially silver or gold. ...gold and silver plate, jewellery, and roomfuls of antique furniture. N-UNCOUNT 6. A plate in a book is a picture or photograph which takes up a whole page and is usually printed on better quality paper than the rest of the book. Fermor's book has 55 colour plates. N-COUNT 7. In geology, a plate is a large piece of the earth's surface, perhaps as large as a continent, which moves very slowly. (TECHNICAL) N-COUNT 8. If you have enough on your plate or have a lot on your plate, you have a lot of work to do or a lot of things to deal with. We have enough on our plate. There is plenty of work to be done on what we have. PHRASE: V inflects 9. If you say that someone has things handed to them on a plate, you disapprove of them because they get good things easily. (mainly BRIT) Even the presidency was handed to him on a plate. PHRASE: V inflects [disapproval]

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

plat: A term seemingly not used in the Bible for a dish as it is so commonly used at present, but always for a tablet or sheet of metal.

(1) tsits (Ex 28:36; 39:30; Le 8:9), a plate of gold on the front of the mitre of the high priest. The name seems to have been given because of the radiance of the object.

(2) pach (Ex 39:3; Nu 16:38), of plates or sheets of metal produced by hammering.

(3) luach, used for tablets or tables of stone (Ex 24:12, etc.), but in 1Ki 7:36 for the metal plates on the bases of the lavers in the temple. The word ceren, is rendered "plate" in 1Ki 7:30 the King James Version, manifestly incorrectly, the Revised Version (British and American) "axle."

Walter R. Betteridge

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Lamina, layer. 2. Dish, platter. 3. Plate armor. 4. Silverware. 5. Engraving.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

Money, silver, prize. He is in for the plate; he has won the KEAT, i.e. is infected with the venereal disorder: a simile drawn from hofse-racing. When the plate fleet comes in; when money comes to hand.

Moby Thesaurus

Chateaubriand, alveolar ridge, anodized aluminum, antepast, armor, backing, bibliofilm, billhead, bipack, black-and-white film, blade roast, book stamp, bookplate, brand, breast, bridgework, brisket, broad arrow, cachet, cartridge, charger, check, chitin, chromium plate, chromium-plate, chuck, chuck roast, clod, coat, coating, cold cuts, collop, colophon, color film, color negative film, copperplate, cortex, counterfoil, countermark, course, cover, covering, cut, deal, dental bridge, dentition, denture, dessert, dish, disk, docket, dope, dry plate, duplicate plate, electrocoating, electroplate, electroplating, electrotype, elytron, emulsion, entree, entremets, episperm, face, false teeth, feuille, filet mignon, film, flank, flap, foil, fold, frame, galvanize, gold plate, government mark, government stamp, gums, hallmark, help, helping, illustration, imprint, ivories, knuckle, label, lamella, lamina, laminate, laminated glass, laminated wood, lamination, lap, layer, leaf, letterhead, locked-up page, logo, logotype, loin, lorica, lorication, mail, masthead, membrane, microfilm, monochromatic film, motion-picture film, negative, nickel plate, orthochromatic film, overlay, pack, panchromatic film, pane, panel, patina, peel, pellicle, pericarp, periodontal tissue, photographic paper, picture, place, plait, plank, plastic plate, plate piece, plating, platter, ply, plywood, portion, pot roast, price tag, print, printing paper, printing plate, printing surface, protective covering, rack, rasher, registered trademark, rib roast, ribs, roast, roll, rolled roast, round, rubber plate, rump, rump roast, running head, running title, saddle, safety glass, scum, scute, scutum, seal, second helping, service, serving, set of teeth, shank, sheet, shell, shield, short ribs, shoulder, shoulder clod, sigil, signet, silver plate, sirloin, skin, slab, slat, slice, sound film, sound track, sound-on-film, soundstripe, stamp, steel plate, stereotype, sticker, stone, stub, table, tablet, tag, tally, teeth, tenderloin, test, testa, thick skin, ticket, title page, token, trade name, trademark, trademark name, trencher, tripack, typeform, uppers and lowers, vehicle, veneer, wafer, zincograph, zincotype