n. [ OF. plate a plate of metal, a cuirsas, F. plat a plate, a shallow vessel of silver, other metal, or earth, fr. plat flat, Gr. &unr_;. See Place, n. ] 1. A flat, or nearly flat, piece of metal, the thickness of which is small in comparison with the other dimensions; a thick sheet of metal; as, a steel plate. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Metallic armor composed of broad pieces. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mangled . . . through plate and mail. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Domestic vessels and utensils, as flagons, dishes, cups, etc., wrought in gold or silver. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Metallic ware which is plated, in distinction from that which is silver or gold throughout. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A small, shallow, and usually circular, vessel of metal or wood, or of earth glazed and baked, from which food is eaten at table. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. [ Cf. Sp. plata silver. ] A piece of money, usually silver money. [ Obs. ] “Realms and islands were as plates dropp'd from his pocket.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A piece of metal on which anything is engraved for the purpose of being printed; hence, an impression from the engraved metal; as, a book illustrated with plates; a fashion plate. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. A page of stereotype, electrotype, or the like, for printing from; as, publisher's plates. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. That part of an artificial set of teeth which fits to the mouth, and holds the teeth in place. It may be of gold, platinum, silver, rubber, celluloid, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. (Arch.) A horizontal timber laid upon a wall, or upon corbels projecting from a wall, and supporting the ends of other timbers; also used specifically of the roof plate which supports the ends of the roof trusses or, in simple work, the feet of the rafters. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. (Her.) A roundel of silver or tinctured argent. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. (Photog.) A sheet of glass, porcelain, metal, etc., with a coating that is sensitive to light. [ 1913 Webster ]

13. A prize giving to the winner in a contest. [ 1913 Webster ]

14. (Baseball) A small five-sided area (enveloping a diamond-shaped area one foot square) beside which the batter stands and which must be touched by some part of a player on completing a run; -- called also home base, or home plate. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

15. One of the thin parts of the bricket of an animal. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

16. A very light steel racing horsehoe. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

17. Loosely, a sporting contest for a prize; specif., in horse racing, a race for a prize, the contestants not making a stake. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

18. Skins for fur linings of garments, sewed together and roughly shaped, but not finally cut or fitted. [ Furrier's Cant ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

19. (Hat Making) The fine nap (as of beaver, hare's wool, musquash, nutria, or English black wool) on a hat the body of which is of an inferior substance. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

20. a quantity sufficient to fill a plate; a plateful; a dish containing that quantity; a plate of spaghetti. [ PJC ]

21. the food and service supplied to a customer at a restaurant; as, the turkey dinner is $9 a plate; I'll have a plate of spaghetti. [ PJC ]

22. a flat dish of glass or plastic with a fitted cover, used for culturing microorganisms in a laboratory. [ PJC ]

23. the identification tag required to be displayed on the outside of a vehicle; same as license plate; -- often used in the plural. [ PJC ]

24. an agenda or schedule of tasks to be performed; I have a lot on my plate today. [ colloq. ] [ PJC ]

☞ Plate is sometimes used in an adjectival sense or in combination, the phrase or compound being in most cases of obvious signification; as, plate basket or plate-basket, plate rack or plate-rack. [ 1913 Webster ]

Home plate. (Baseball) See Home base, under Home. --
Plate armor. (a) See Plate, n., 2. (b) Strong metal plates for protecting war vessels, fortifications, and the like. --
Plate bone, the shoulder blade, or scapula. --
Plate girder, a girder, the web of which is formed of a single vertical plate, or of a series of such plates riveted together. --
Plate glass. See under Glass. --
Plate iron, wrought iron plates. --
Plate layer, a workman who lays down the rails of a railway and fixes them to the sleepers or ties. --
Plate mark, a special mark or emblematic figure stamped upon gold or silver plate, to indicate the place of manufacture, the degree of purity, and the like; thus, the local mark for London is a lion. --
Plate paper, a heavy spongy paper, for printing from engraved plates. Fairholt. --
Plate press, a press with a flat carriage and a roller, -- used for printing from engraved steel or copper plates. --
Plate printer, one who prints from engraved plates. --
Plate printing, the act or process of printing from an engraved plate or plates. --
Plate tracery. (Arch.) See under Tracery. --
Plate wheel (Mech.), a wheel, the rim and hub of which are connected by a continuous plate of metal, instead of by arms or spokes. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Plated; p. pr. & vb. n. Plating. ] 1. To cover or overlay with gold, silver, or other metals, either by a mechanical process, as hammering, or by a chemical process, as electrotyping. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cover or overlay with plates of metal; to arm with metal for defense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thus plated in habiliments of war. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To adorn with plated metal; as, a plated harness. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To beat into thin, flat pieces, or laminæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To calender; as, to plate paper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. F. Plateaux E. Plateaus [ F., fr. OF. platel, properly a little plate. See Plate. ] 1. A flat surface; especially, a broad, level, elevated area of land; a table-land. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An ornamental dish for the table; a tray or salver. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Platefuls Enough to fill a plate; as much as a plate will hold. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having flat, or leaflike, gills, as the bivalve mollusks. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. See Plateau. ] A small dish. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. platine, fr. plat flat. See Plate, and cf. Platin. ] (Mach.) (a) The part of a printing press which presses the paper against the type and by which the impression is made. (b) Hence, an analogous part of a typewriter, on which the paper rests to receive an impression. (c) The movable table of a machine tool, as a planer, on which the work is fastened, and presented to the action of the tool; -- also called table. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who plates or coats articles with gold or silver; as, a silver plater. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A machine for calendering paper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Horse Racing) A horse that runs chiefly in plate, esp. selling-plate, races; hence, an inferior race horse. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ Sp. resco, from plata silver. ] (Arch.) Resembling silver plate; -- said of certain architectural ornaments. [ 1913 Webster ]