plate

plate [plāt]

n.

[OFr, flat object < fem. of plat, flat < VL * plattus < Gr platys, broad, flat: see PLATY-]

1. a smooth, flat, relatively thin piece of metal or other material

2. a sheet of metal made by beating, rolling, or casting

3.

a) any of the thin sheets of metal, plastic, etc. used in one kind of armor (plate armor)

b) such armor

4.

a) a thin, flat piece of metal on which an engraving is, or is to be, cut

b) an impression taken from the engraved metal

5. a print of a woodcut, lithograph, etc., esp. when used in a book

6. a full-page book illustration of any kind, printed on paper of a stock different from that of the text

7.

a) dishes, utensils, etc. of silver or gold, collectively

b) metal dishes, utensils, etc., or any metallic ware, plated with gold or silver

8. a shallow dish, usually circular, from which food is eaten

9. PLATEFUL

10. the food in a dish; a course [a fruit plate]

11. food and service for an individual at a meal [dinner at twenty dollars a plate]

12. a dish or other container passed in churches, etc. for donations of money

13.

a) a prize, orig. a gold or silver cup, given to the winner of a race or contest

b) a contest, esp. a horse race, for such a prize, rather than for stakes: also called plate race

14. PETRI DISH

15. a thin cut of beef from the forequarter, just below the short ribs: see BEEF

16. Anat. Zool. a thin layer, plate, or scale, as of bone or horny tissue; lamina; scute

17. Archit. a horizontal wooden girder that supports the trusses or rafters of a roof

18. Baseball short for HOME PLATE

19. Dentistry

a) that part of an artificial denture which fits to the mouth and holds the teeth

b) [often pl.] loosely a full set of false teeth

20. Elec. ANODE (senses 1 & 2)

21. Philately the impression surface from which a sheet of postage stamps is printed

22. Photog. a sheet of glass, metal, etc., coated with a film sensitive to light, upon which the image is formed

23. Printing a cast, to be printed from, made from a mold of set type or from a negative prepared as by photocomposition

vt.

plated, plating

1. to overlay or coat with gold, silver, tin, etc. by a mechanical, chemical, or electrical process

2. to cover, as with metal plates for protection

3. to make a printing plate of