palate

[pal-it] /ˈpæl ɪt/
noun
1.
Anatomy. the roof of the mouth, consisting of an anterior bony portion (hard palate) and a posterior muscular portion (soft palate) that separate the oral cavity from the nasal cavity.
2.
the sense of taste:
a dinner to delight the palate.
3.
intellectual or aesthetic taste; mental appreciation.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English palat < Latin palātum roof of the mouth
Related forms
palateless, adjective
palatelike, adjective
Can be confused
palate, palette, pallet.
Examples from the web for palate
  • The cleft palate is a common and serious birth defect, but you don't hear much about it.
  • Sweetbreads require a much more sophisticated palate.
  • However, my wine merchant claims that the slope of the function is unique to the consumer's palate.
  • They may be pricey but your palate will be grateful.
  • The atoms get their space, and the color palate has shifted toward green.
  • Meals were expected to please both the palate and the eye.
  • Hot and cool, invigorating yet soothing, ginger dances on the palate.
  • And have some water, mild fruit, bread or crackers available to help cleanse your palate between wines.
  • Variations in size or structure of either jaw may affect its shape, as can birth defects such as cleft lip and palate.
  • The world's palate is evolving back to natural foods.
British Dictionary definitions for palate

palate

/ˈpælɪt/
noun
1.
the roof of the mouth, separating the oral and nasal cavities See hard palate, soft palate related adjective palatine
2.
the sense of taste: she had no palate for the wine
3.
relish or enjoyment
4.
(botany) (in some two-lipped corollas) the projecting part of the lower lip that closes the opening of the corolla
palettepallet1
Word Origin
C14: from Latin palātum, perhaps of Etruscan origin
Word Origin and History for palate
n.

late 14c., "roof of the mouth," from Old French palat and directly from Latin palatum "roof of the mouth," perhaps of Etruscan origin [Klein]. Popularly considered the seat of taste, hence transferred meaning "sense of taste" (late 14c.), which also was in classical Latin. Related: Palatal; palatalize.

palate in Medicine

palate pal·ate (pāl'ĭt)
n.
The bony and muscular partition between the oral and nasal cavities; the roof of the mouth.

palate in Science
palate
  (pāl'ĭt)   
The roof of the mouth in vertebrate animals, separating the mouth from the passages of the nose. ◇ The bony part of the palate is called the hard palate. ◇ A soft, flexible, rear portion of the palate, called the soft palate, is present in mammals only and serves to close off the mouth from the nose during swallowing.
palate in Culture
palate [(pal-uht)]

The roof of the mouth. The palate separates the mouth from the nasal cavity.

Note: It is sometimes said that a person has a “cultivated palate” if he or she has a discerning taste for food.