palate

C2 Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /ˈpælət/ UK /ˈpæl.ət/ See IPA manual

Freq #17046

Meanings

1

noun
The roof of the mouth, which separates the mouth from the nasal passage.

The hot soup burned the roof of his mouth, scalding his palate.
2

noun
A person's sense of taste and ability to appreciate different flavours.

Years of tasting wine had given her a refined palate.
3

noun
A liking or appreciation for something; a taste for it.

The film was too violent for my palate.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the roof of the mouth,... roof of the mouth

Word family

Forms palates

Derived forms midpalatepalatalpalatefulpalatelesspalatelikepalaticpalatiformpalatitispalativepalatizepseudopalate

Related forms palatine

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

soft palate
the flexible muscular area at the back of the roof of the mouth

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Palate comes from Latin palatum, meaning “roof of the mouth.” English soon extended the anatomical sense to the faculty of taste, though its specific use in wine tasting dates only from the 1970s.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-? Proto-Indo-European *pel-? Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-osder. Latin palātumder. Old French palatbor. Middle English palate English palate From Middle English palate, from Latin palātum (“roof of the mouth, palate”), perhaps of Etruscan origin.

palate Middle English palātum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# palate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpælət/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpæl.ət/
**Frequency rank:** 17046

## Meanings
1. The roof of the mouth, which separates the mouth from the nasal passage.
2. A person's sense of taste and ability to appreciate different flavours.
3. A liking or appreciation for something; a taste for it.

## Examples
- The hot soup burned the roof of his mouth, scalding his palate.
- Years of tasting wine had given her a refined palate.
- The film was too violent for my palate.

## Derived Forms
- midpalate
- palatal
- palateful
- palateless
- palatelike
- palatic
- palatiform
- palatitis
- palative
- palatize
- pseudopalate

## Related Forms
- palatine

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: palate
- Root: palātum

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-? Proto-Indo-European *pel-? Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-osder. Latin palātumder. Old French palatbor. Middle English palate English palate From Middle English palate, from Latin palātum (“roof of the mouth, palate”), perhaps of Etruscan origin.

## AI Etymology
Palate is from Middle English palate, from Latin palātum (“roof of the mouth, palate”), perhaps of Etruscan origin. The historical chain records Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-?, Proto-Indo-European *pel-?, Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-os, Latin palātum, Old French palat, Middle English palate, and English palate. Important recorded forms include palate (Middle English) and palātum (Latin). Current senses include the roof of the mouth, which separates the mouth from the nasal passage and a person's sense of taste and ability to appreciate different flavours. The wider family includes derived forms such as midpalate, palatal, palateful, palateless, and palatelike; related words such as palatine.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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