plate

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a main course served on a plate

   a vegetable plate

2. 2
   verb

   coat with a layer of metal

   plate spoons with silver

3. 3
   noun

   A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which food is served or eaten.

   I filled my plate from the bountiful table.

4. 4
   noun

   Such dishes collectively.

   A valuable collection of silver plate was donated to the museum.

5. 5
   noun

   The contents of such a dish.

   I ate a plate of beans.

6. 6
   noun

   A course at a meal.

   The meat plate was particularly tasty.

7. 7
   noun

   An agenda of tasks, problems, or responsibilities

   With revenues down and transfer payments up, the legislature has a full plate.

8. 8
   noun

   A flat object of uniform thickness.

   The most important and most expensive part of any solar cell is a silicon plate.

Etymology

From Middle English plate, from Old French plate, from Medieval Latin plata, from Vulgar Latin *plat(t)us, from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “broad, flat, wide”). Compare Spanish plato. (foot): Cockney rhyming slang, from "plates of meat" for "feet".