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.].

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. [1913 Webster]
Metallic armor composed of broad pieces. [1913 Webster]
"Mangled . . . through plate and mail." [1913 Webster]
Domestic vessels and utensils, as flagons, dishes, cups, etc., wrought in gold or silver. [1913 Webster]
Metallic ware which is plated, in distinction from that which is silver or gold throughout. [1913 Webster]
A small, shallow, and usually circular, vessel of metal or wood, or of earth glazed and baked, from which food is eaten at table. [1913 Webster]
A piece of money, usually silver money. Shak. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
A page of stereotype, electrotype, or the like, for printing from; as, publisher's plates. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
A roundel of silver or tinctured argent. [1913 Webster]
A sheet of glass, porcelain, metal, etc., with a coating that is sensitive to light. [1913 Webster]
A prize giving to the winner in a contest. [1913 Webster]
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. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
One of the thin parts of the bricket of an animal. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
A very light steel racing horsehoe. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Loosely, a sporting contest for a prize; specif., in horse racing, a race for a prize, the contestants not making a stake. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Skins for fur linings of garments, sewed together and roughly shaped, but not finally cut or fitted. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
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 1913 Suppl.]
a quantity sufficient to fill a plate; a plateful; a dish containing that quantity; a plate of spaghetti. [PJC]
the food and service supplied to a customer at a restaurant; as, the turkey dinner is $9 a plate; I'll have a plate of spaghetti. [PJC]
a flat dish of glass or plastic with a fitted cover, used for culturing microorganisms in a laboratory. [PJC]
the identification tag required to be displayed on the outside of a vehicle; same as license plate; -- often used in the plural. [PJC]
an agenda or schedule of tasks to be performed; I have a lot on my plate today. [PJC]
" 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." [1913 Webster]

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.

Plate, v. t.

To cover or overlay with gold, silver, or other metals, either by a mechanical process, as hammering, or by a chemical process, as electrotyping. [1913 Webster]
To cover or overlay with plates of metal; to arm with metal for defense. [1913 Webster]
"Thus plated in habiliments of war." [1913 Webster]
To adorn with plated metal; as, a plated harness. [1913 Webster]
To beat into thin, flat pieces, or laminæ. [1913 Webster]
To calender; as, to plate paper. [1913 Webster]

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

Plate, 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.

Idiom

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.

Derivative

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

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THESAURUS

Plate

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

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ROGET THESAURUS

Plate

Receptacle

N receptacle, inclosure, recipient, receiver, reservatory, compartment, cell, cellule, follicle, hole, corner, niche, recess, nook, crypt, stall, pigeonhole, cove, oriel, cave, capsule, vesicle, cyst, pod, calyx, cancelli, utricle, bladder, pericarp, udder, stomach, paunch, venter, ventricle, crop, craw, maw, gizzard, breadbasket, mouth, pocket, pouch, fob, sheath, scabbard, socket, bag, sac, sack, saccule, wallet, cardcase, scrip, poke, knit, knapsack, haversack, sachel, satchel, reticule, budget, net, ditty bag, ditty box, housewife, hussif, saddlebags, portfolio, quiver, chest, box, coffer, caddy, case, casket, pyx, pix, caisson, desk, bureau, reliquary, trunk, portmanteau, band-box, valise, grip, grip sack, skippet, vasculum, boot, imperial, vache, cage, manger, rack, vessel, vase, bushel, barrel, canister, jar, pottle, basket, pannier, buck-basket, hopper, maund, creel, cran, crate, cradle, bassinet, wisket, whisket, jardiniere, corbeille, hamper, dosser, dorser, tray, hod, scuttle, utensil, brazier, cuspidor, spittoon, cistern, vat, caldron, barrel, cask, drum, puncheon, keg, rundlet, tun, butt, cag, firkin, kilderkin, carboy, amphora, bottle, jar, decanter, ewer, cruse, caraffe, crock, kit, canteen, flagon, demijohn, flask, flasket, stoup, noggin, vial, phial, cruet, caster, urn, epergne, salver, patella, tazza, patera, pig gin, big gin, tyg, nipperkin, pocket pistol, tub, bucket, pail, skeel, pot, tankard, jug, pitcher, mug, pipkin, galipot, gallipot, matrass, receiver, retort, alembic, bolthead, capsule, can, kettle, bowl, basin, jorum, punch bowl, cup, goblet, chalice, tumbler, glass, rummer, horn, saucepan, skillet, posnet, tureen, beaker, flask, Erlenmeyer flask, Florence flask, round-bottom flask, graduated cylinder, test tube, culture tube, pipette, Pasteur pipette, disposable pipette, syringe, vial, carboy, vacuum flask, Petri dish, microtiter tray, centrifuge tube, bail, beaker, billy, canakin, catch basin, catch drain, chatti, lota, mussuk, schooner, spider, terrine, toby, urceus, plate, platter, dish, trencher, calabash, porringer, potager, saucer, pan, crucible, glassware, tableware, vitrics, compote, gravy boat, creamer, sugar bowl, butter dish, mug, pitcher, punch bowl, chafing dish, shovel, trowel, spoon, spatula, ladle, dipper, tablespoon, watch glass, thimble, closet, commode, cupboard, cellaret, chiffonniere, locker, bin, bunker, buffet, press, clothespress, safe, sideboard, drawer, chest of drawers, chest on chest, highboy, lowboy, till, scrutoire, secretary, secretaire, davenport, bookcase, cabinet, canterbury, escritoire, etagere, vargueno, vitrine, chamber, apartment, room, cabin, office, court, hall, atrium, suite of rooms, apartment, flat, story, saloon, salon, parlor, by-room, cubicle, presence chamber, sitting room, best room, keeping room, drawing room, reception room, state room, gallery, cabinet, closet, pew, box, boudoir, adytum, sanctum, bedroom, dormitory, refectory, dining room, salle-a-manger, nursery, schoolroom, library, study, studio, billiard room, smoking room, den, stateroom, tablinum, tenement, bath room, bathroom, toilet, lavatory, powder room, john, jakes, necessary, loo, men's room, ladies' room, rest room, (uncleanness), 653 attic, loft, garret, cockloft, clerestory, cellar, vault, hold, cockpit, cubbyhole, cook house, entre-sol, mezzanine floor, ground floor, rez-de-chaussee, basement, kitchen, pantry, bawarchi-khana, scullery, offices, storeroom, lumber room, dairy, laundry, coach house, garage, hangar, outhouse, penthouse, lean-to, portico, porch, stoop, stope, veranda, patio, lanai, terrace, deck, lobby, court, courtyard, hall, vestibule, corridor, passage, breezeway, ante room, ante chamber, lounge, piazza, veranda, conservatory, greenhouse, bower, arbor, summerhouse, alcove, grotto, hermitage, lodging, bed, carriage, capsular, saccular, sacculated, recipient, ventricular, cystic, vascular, vesicular, cellular, camerated, locular, multilocular, polygastric, marsupial, siliquose, siliquous.

Layer

N layer, stratum, strata, course, bed, zone, substratum, substrata, floor, flag, stage, story, tier, slab, escarpment, table, tablet, dess, flagstone, board, plank, trencher, platter, plate, lamina, lamella, sheet, foil, wafer, scale, flake, peel, coat, pellicle, membrane, film, leaf, slice, shive, cut, rasher, shaving, integument, eschar, stratification, scaliness, nest of boxes, coats of an onion, monolayer, bilayer, trilayer, lamellar, lamellated, lamelliform, layered, laminated, laminiferous, micaceous, schistose, schistous, scaly, filmy, membranous, pellicular, flaky, squamous, foliated, foliaceous, stratified, stratiform, tabular, discoid, spathic, spathose, trilamellar, graphitic.

VB slice, shave, pare, peel, delaminate, plate, coat, veneer, cover.

Covering

N covering, cover, baldachin, baldachino, baldaquin, canopy, tilt, awning, tent, marquee, tente d'abri, umbrella, parasol, sunshade, veil (shade), shield, roof, ceiling, thatch, tile, pantile, pentile, tiling, slates, slating, leads, barrack, plafond, planchment, tiling, shed, top, lid, covercle, door, operculum, bulkhead, bandage, plaster, lint, wrapping, dossil, finger stall, coverlet, counterpane, sheet, quilt, tarpaulin, blanket, rug, drugget, housing, antimacassar, eiderdown, numdah, pillowcase, pillowslip, linoleum, saddle cloth, blanket cloth, tidy, tilpah, apishamore, integument, tegument, skin, pellicle, fleece, fell, fur, leather, shagreen, hide, pelt, peltry, cordwain, derm, robe, buffalo robe, cuticle, scarfskin, epidermis, clothing, mask, peel, crust, bark, rind, cortex, husk, shell, coat, eggshell, glume, capsule, sheath, sheathing, pod, cod, casing, case, theca, elytron, elytrum, involucrum, wrapping, wrapper, envelope, vesicle, corn husk, corn shuck, dermatology, conchology, testaceology, inunction, incrustation, superimposition, superposition, obduction, scale, veneer, facing, overlay, plate, silver plate, gold plate, copper plate, engobe, ormolu, Sheffield plate, pavement, coating, paint, varnish, plating, barrel plating, anointing, enamel, epitaxial deposition, vapor deposition, ground, whitewash, plaster, spackel, stucco, compo, cerement, ointment, covering, superimposed, overlaid, plated, cutaneous, dermal, cortical, cuticular, tegumentary, skinny, scaly, squamous, covered, imbricated, loricated, armor plated, ironclad, under cover, cowled, cucullate, dermatoid, encuirassed, hooded, squamiferous, tectiform, vaginate.

VB cover, superpose, superimpose, overlay, overspread, wrap, encase, incase, face, case, veneer, pave, paper, tip, cap, bind, bulkhead, bulkhead in, clapboard, coat, paint, varnish, pay, incrust, stucco, dab, plaster, tar, wash, besmear, bedaub, anoint, do over, gild, plate, japan, lacquer, lacker, enamel, whitewash, parget, lay it on thick, overlie, overarch, endome, conceal, anodize, galvanize.

Flatness

N flatness, smoothness, plane, level, plate, platter, table, tablet, slab, flat, plane, even, flush, scutiform, discoid, level, flat as a pancake, flat as a fluke, flat as a flounder, flat as a board, flat as my hand.

Food

N food, eating, deglutition, gulp, epulation, mastication, manducation, rumination, gluttony, hippophagy, ichthyophagy, (appetite), mouth, jaws, mandible, mazard, gob, chops, drinking, potation, draught, libation, carousal, drunkenness, food, pabulum, aliment, nourishment, nutriment, sustenance, sustentation, sustention, nurture, subsistence, provender, corn, feed, fodder, provision, ration, keep, commons, board, commissariat, prey, forage, pasture, pasturage, fare, cheer, diet, dietary, regimen, belly timber, staff of life, bread, bread and cheese, comestibles, eatables, victuals, edibles, ingesta, grub, grubstake, prog, meat, bread, bread stuffs, cerealia, cereals, viands, cates, delicacy, dainty, creature comforts, contents of the larder, fleshpots, festal board, ambrosia, good cheer, good living, beef, bisquit, bun, cornstarch, cookie, cooky, cracker, doughnut, fatling, hardtack, hoecake, hominy, mutton, pilot bread, pork, roti, rusk, ship biscuit, veal, joint, piece de resistance, roast and boiled, remove, entremet, releve, hash, rechauffe, stew, ragout, fricassee, mince, pottage, potage, broth, soup, consomme, puree, spoonmeat, pie, pasty, volauvent, pudding, omelet, pastry, sweets, kickshaws, condiment, appetizer, hors d'oeuvre, main course, entree, alligator pear, apple, apple slump, artichoke, ashcake, griddlecake, pancake, flapjack, atole, avocado, banana, beche de mer, barbecue, beefsteak, beet root, blackberry, blancmange, bloater, bouilli, bouillon, breadfruit, chop suey, chowder, chupatty, clam, compote, damper, fish, frumenty, grapes, hasty pudding, ice cream, lettuce, mango, mangosteen, mince pie, oatmeal, oyster, pineapple, porridge, porterhouse steak, salmis, sauerkraut, sea slug, sturgeon ("Albany beef"), succotash, supawn, trepang, vanilla, waffle, walnut, table, cuisine, bill of fare, menu, table d'hote, ordinary, entree, meal, repast, feed, spread, mess, dish, plate, course, regale, regalement, refreshment, entertainment, refection, collation, picnic, feast, banquet, junket, breakfast, lunch, luncheon, dejeuner, bever, tiffin, dinner, supper, snack, junk food, fast food, whet, bait, dessert, potluck, table d'hote, dejeuner a la fourchette, hearty meal, square meal, substantial meal, full meal, blowout, light refreshment, bara, chotahazri, bara khana, mouthful, bolus, gobbet, morsel, sop, sippet, drink, beverage, liquor, broth, soup, potion, dram, draught, drench, swill, nip, sip, sup, gulp, wine, spirits, liqueur, beer, ale, malt liquor, Sir John Barleycorn, stingo, heavy wet, grog, toddy, flip, purl, punch, negus, cup, bishop, wassail, gin, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, tea, the cup that cheers but not inebriates, bock beer, lager beer, Pilsener beer, schenck beer, Brazil tea, cider, claret, ice water, mate, mint julep, near beer, 2 beer, non- alcoholic beverage, eating house, diner, hippophage, glutton, eatable, edible, esculent, comestible, alimentary, cereal, cibarious, dietetic, culinary, nutritive, nutritious, gastric, succulent, potable, potulent, bibulous, omnivorous, carnivorous, herbivorous, granivorous, graminivorous, phytivorous, ichthyivorous, omophagic, omophagous, pantophagous, phytophagous, xylophagous, across the walnuts and the wine, blessed hour of our dinners!, now good digestion wait on appetite, and health on both!, who can cloy the hungry edge of appetite?.

Engraving

N engraving, chalcography, line engraving, mezzotint engraving, stipple engraving, chalk engraving, dry point, bur, etching, aquatinta, chiseling, plate engraving, copperplate engraving, steel engraving, wood engraving, xylography, lignography, glyptography, cerography, lithography, chromolithography, photolithography, zincography, glyphography, xylograph, lignograph, glyptograph, cerograph, lithograph, chromolithograph, photolithograph, zincograph, glyphograph, holograph, impression, print, engraving, plate, steelplate, copperplate, etching, mezzotint, aquatint, lithotint, cut, woodcut, stereotype, graphotype, autotype, heliotype, graver, burin, etching point, style, plate, stone, wood block, negative, die, punch, stamp, printing, plate printing, copperplate printing, anastatic printing, color printing, lithographic printing, type printing, three-color process, illustration, illumination, half tone, photogravure, vignette, initial letter, cul de lampe, tailpiece, lapidary, lapidarian, insculptured, engraved, lapidary, sculpsit, imprimit, engraving, chalcography, line engraving, mezzotint engraving, stipple engraving, chalk engraving, dry point, bur, etching, aquatinta, chiseling, plate engraving, copperplate engraving, steel engraving, wood engraving, xylography, lignography, glyptography, cerography, lithography, chromolithography, photolithography, zincography, glyphography, xylograph, lignograph, glyptograph, cerograph, lithograph, chromolithograph, photolithograph, zincograph, glyphograph, holograph, impression, print, engraving, plate, steelplate, copperplate, etching, mezzotint, aquatint, lithotint, cut, woodcut, stereotype, graphotype, autotype, heliotype, graver, burin, etching point, style, plate, stone, wood block, negative, die, punch, stamp, printing, plate printing, copperplate printing, anastatic printing, color printing, lithographic printing, type printing, three-color process, illustration, illumination, half tone, photogravure, vignette, initial letter, cul de lampe, tailpiece, lapidary, lapidarian, insculptured, engraved, lapidary, sculpsit, imprimit.

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