From Middle English plate, from Old French plate, from Medieval Latin plata, from Vulgar Latin *plat(t)us, from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “broad, flat, wide”). Compare Spanish plato.
(foot): Cockney rhyming slang, from "plates of meat" for "feet".
nounplates
countable, uncountableA slightly curved but almost flat dish from which food is served or eaten.I filled my plate from the bountiful table.
uncountableSuch dishes collectively.A valuable collection of silver plate was donated to the museum.
countable, uncountableThe contents of such a dish.I ate a plate of beans.
countable, uncountableA course at a meal.The meat plate was particularly tasty.
countable, figuratively, uncountableAn agenda of tasks, problems, or responsibilitiesWith revenues down and transfer payments up, the legislature has a full plate.
countable, uncountableA flat object of uniform thickness.The most important and most expensive part of any solar cell is a silicon plate.
Australia, countable, especially, metonymically, plural, plural onlyVehicle license plates, registration plates.He stole a car and changed the plates as soon as he could.
countable, uncountableA taxi permit, especially of a metal disc.
countable, historical, uncountablePlate armor.He was confronted by two knights in full plate.
countable, uncountableA layer of a material on the surface of something, usually qualified by the type of the material; platingThe bullets just bounced off the steel plate on its hull.
countable, uncountableA material covered with such a layer.If you're not careful, someone will sell you silverware that's really only silver plate.
countable, dated, uncountableAn ornamental or food service item coated with silver or gold or otherwise decorated.The tea was served in the plate.
countable, uncountableA weighted disk, usually of metal, with a hole in the center for use with a barbell, dumbbell, or exercise machine.
countable, uncountableAn engraved surface used to transfer an image to paper.We finished making the plates this morning.
countable, uncountableAn image or copy.
countable, uncountableAn illustration in a book, either black and white, or colour, usually on a page of paper of different quality from the text pages.
countable, uncountableA shaped and fitted surface, usually ceramic or metal that fits into the mouth and in which teeth are implanted; a dental plate.
countable, uncountableA horizontal framing member at the top or bottom of a group of vertical studs.
Cockney, countable, slang, uncountableA person's foot.Sit down and give your plates a rest.
countable, uncountableHome plate.There was a close play at the plate.
countable, uncountableA tectonic plate.Our planet's crust is split into eight major plates and many minor plates.
countable, uncountableAny of various larger scales found in some reptiles.
countable, uncountableA flat electrode such as can be found in an accumulator battery, or in an electrolysis tank.
countable, uncountableThe anode of a vacuum tube.Regulating the oscillator plate voltage greatly improves the keying.
countable, uncountableA prize given to the winner in a contest.
countable, uncountableAny flat piece of material such as coated glass or plastic.
countable, dated, uncountableA metallic card, used to imprint tickets with an airline's logo, name, and numeric code.
broadly, countable, uncountableThe ability of a travel agent to issue tickets on behalf of a particular airline.
Australia, countable, uncountableA VIN plate, particularly with regard to the car's year of manufacture.
countable, uncountableOne of the thin parts of the brisket of an animal.
countable, uncountableA very light steel horseshoe for racehorses.
countable, uncountableSkins for fur linings of garments, sewn together and roughly shaped, but not finally cut or fitted.
countable, uncountableThe fine nap (as of beaver, musquash, etc.) on a hat whose body is made from inferior material.
countable, uncountableA record, usually vinyl.
countable, uncountabletrauma plate.The SAPI plate in his vest protected him from the bullet's impact.
countable, slang, uncountableAny of the potential romantic or sexual partners with whom a person keeps in touch as part of plate spinning.More plates means more dates!
countable, uncountableA Lego piece that is thin, 1/3 the height of a brick, and has studs on top.
From Middle English platen, from Old English platian and Old French plater, both ultimately from Latin plata (see above).
verbplates · plating · plated
transitiveTo cover the surface material of an object with a thin coat of another material, usually a metal.This ring is plated with a thin layer of gold.
transitiveTo place the various elements of a meal on the diner's plate prior to serving.After preparation, the chef will plate the dish.
transitiveTo score a run.The single plated the runner from second base.
transitiveTo arm or defend with metal plates.
transitiveTo beat into thin plates.
To specify which airline a ticket will be issued on behalf of.Tickets are normally plated on an itinerary's first international airline.
transitiveTo categorize stamps based on their position on the original sheet, in order to reconstruct an entire sheet.
transitiveTo identify the printing plate used, particularly with early British stamps.
From Middle English, partly from Anglo-Norman plate (“plate, bullion”) and partly from Latin plata (“silver”), from Vulgar Latin *platta (“metal plate”), from feminine of Latin *plattus (“flat”).
nounplates
uncountable, usuallyPrecious metal, especially silver.At every meal—and I have heard the meals at Petleighcote were neither abundant nor succulent—enough plate stood upon the table to pay for the feeding of the poor of the whole county for a month
obsoleteSilver or gold, in the form of a coin, or less often silver or gold utensils or dishes.[…] realms and islands were
As plates dropp’d from his pocket.
A roundel of silver or argent.
Plate⁵
Where it comes from
Ellipsis of River Plate.
proper nounthe Plate
The River Plate.[…]; but the tributary waters of the Plate issuing from the eastern and western plateaus, flow towards each other, unite in the heart of the continent, and continue over the central plain to the Atlantic.
