soft palate

noun
1.
See under palate (def 1).
Origin
1805-15

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 soft palate
  • Tissue from the roof of the mouth may be moved over to cover the soft palate.
  • The posterior border is concave, free, and serves for the attachment of the soft palate.
  • There are some over-the-counter sprays that work by coating the soft palate.
British Dictionary definitions for soft palate

soft palate

noun
1.
the posterior fleshy portion of the roof of the mouth. It forms a movable muscular flap that seals off the nasopharynx during swallowing and speech

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 soft palate

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.

soft 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.

soft palate n.
The movable fold, consisting of muscular fibers enclosed in mucous membrane, that is suspended from the rear of the hard palate and closes off the nasal cavity from the oral cavity during swallowing or sucking.

soft 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.
soft palate  
See under palate.
soft 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.