plate
UK[pleɪt]US[pleɪt]
n
A flat dish, typically circular, from which food is eaten or served.
n
A thin, flat piece of metal or other material, often used for joining or strengthening.
n
A rigid structure forming part of the skeleton of an animal, such as the bony plates of a dinosaur.
n
A sheet of metal, plastic, or other material bearing an image or design, used in printing.
v
To cover a metal object with a thin layer of another metal, especially silver or gold.
Etymology
The word 'plate' entered English in the 13th century from Old French 'plate', meaning a thin piece of metal, itself a noun use of the feminine form of 'plat', meaning 'flat'. The Old French term traces back to Vulgar Latin 'plattus', likely of Greek origin from 'platus', meaning 'flat, broad'. This Greek root is from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) base 'plat-', 'to spread', which also gives us words like 'place' and 'plain'. The semantic journey from the ancient concept of 'spread out flat' to the modern objects—a flat dish, a flat sheet of metal, or the act of applying a flat layer—demonstrates a clear and consistent logic based on the fundamental property of flatness.
Analysis
The modern English word 'plate' is a simplex form derived from Old French. Its core morpheme 'plat-' carries the sense of 'flat'. It functions as a root noun and verb in English.
Examples
She carefully arranged the food on the ceramic plate.
The ship's hull was reinforced with steel plates.
The jeweler will plate the ring with a fresh layer of gold.