mid-13c., "flat sheet of gold or silver," also "flat, round coin," from Old French plate "thin piece of metal" (late 12c.), from Medieval Latin plata "plate, piece of metal," perhaps via Vulgar Latin *plattus, formed on model of Greek platys "flat, broad" (see plaice (n.)). The cognate in Spanish (plata) and Portuguese (prata) has become the usual word for "silver," superseding argento via shortening of *plata d'argento "plate of silver, coin." Meaning "table utensils" (originally of silver or gold only) is from Middle English. Meaning "shallow dish for food," now usually of china or earthenware, originally of metal or wood, is from mid-15c. Baseball sense is from 1857. Geological sense is first attested 1904; plate tectonics first recorded 1969. Plate-glass first recorded 1727.
late 14c., from plate (n.). Related: Plated; plating.
plate (plāt)
n.
A smooth, flat, relatively thin, rigid body of uniform thickness.
A thin flat layer, part, or structure.
A thin metallic or plastic support fitted to the gums to anchor artificial teeth.
A metal bar applied to a fractured bone in order to maintain the ends in apposition.
The agar layer within a Petri dish or similar vessel.
A sheet of glass or metal that is light-sensitive and on which a photographic image can be recorded.
plate (plāt) Noun
Verb To coat or cover with a thin layer of metal. |