plaque

[plak] /plæk/
noun
1.
a thin, flat plate or tablet of metal, porcelain, etc., intended for ornament, as on a wall, or set in a piece of furniture.
2.
an inscribed commemorative tablet, usually of metal placed on a building, monument, or the like.
3.
a platelike brooch or ornament, especially one worn as the badge of an honorary order.
4.
Anatomy, Pathology. a flat, often raised, patch on the skin or other organ, as on the inner lining of arterial walls in atherosclerosis.
5.
Dentistry. a soft, sticky, whitish matlike film attached to tooth surfaces, formed largely by the growth of bacteria that colonize the teeth.
6.
Bacteriology. a cleared region in a bacterial culture, resulting from lysis of bacteria by bacteriophages.
Origin
1840-50; < French, noun derivative of plaquer to plate < Middle Dutch placken to patch; cf. placket
Can be confused
plague, plaque.
Examples from the web for plaque
  • In fact, the team left a commemorative plaque requesting that the site be left undisturbed as a memorial to the dead.
  • Both approaches are designed to blast away brain plaque.
  • The plaque indicated the tree was a native of Chile.
  • Of solid cast bronze and hand-rubbed cherry, this truly quality plaque will be an enduring reminder to him of his year in office.
  • Your plaque can be decorated to suit your own tastes.
  • Sometimes it kills the bacterium responsible for dental plaque.
  • If you do a sloppy job of brushing after you eat, harmful germs flock to food residues and form deposits called plaque.
  • The icehouse remained in use until 1923, says a wall plaque.
  • Emboli formed by atherosclerotic plaque can also block arteries.
  • The chart at the left is full size for use on the plaque.
British Dictionary definitions for plaque

plaque

/plæk; plɑːk/
noun
1.
an ornamental or commemorative inscribed tablet or plate of porcelain, wood, etc
2.
a small flat brooch or badge, as of a club, etc
3.
(pathol) any small abnormal patch on or within the body, such as the typical lesion of psoriasis
4.
short for dental plaque
5.
(bacteriol) a clear area within a bacterial or tissue culture caused by localized destruction of the cells by a bacteriophage or other virus
Word Origin
C19: from French, from plaquier to plate, from Middle Dutch placken to beat (metal) into a thin plate
Word Origin and History for plaque
n.

1848, "ornamental plate or tablet," from French plaque "metal plate, coin" (15c.), perhaps through Flemish placke "small coin," from Middle Dutch placke "disk, patch, stain," related to German Placken "spot, patch" (cf. placard). Meaning "deposit on walls of arteries" is first attested 1891; that of "bacteria deposits on teeth" is 1898.

plaque in Medicine

plaque (plāk)
n.

  1. A small disk-shaped formation or growth; a patch.

  2. A deposit of fatty material on the inner lining of an arterial wall, characteristic of atherosclerosis.

  3. Dental plaque.

  4. A clear, often round patch of lysed cells in an otherwise opaque layer of a bacteria or cell culture.

  5. A scaly patch formed on the skin by psoriasis.

  6. A sharply defined zone of demyelination characteristic of multiple sclerosis.

plaque in Science
plaque
  (plāk)   

  1. A small disk-shaped formation or growth; a patch.

  2. A film of mucus and bacteria on the surface of the teeth.

  3. A deposit of material in a bodily tissue or organ, especially one of the fatty deposits that collect on the inner lining of an artery wall in atherosclerosis or one of the amyloid deposits that accumulate in the brain in Alzheimer's disease.


plaque in Culture
plaque [(plak)]

A thin film composed of bacteria, mucus, and food particles that forms on the surfaces of teeth. Plaque contributes to tooth decay and gum disease. Plaque also refers to a combination of cholesterol and lipids that can accumulate on the inside of arteries, causing atherosclerosis.