Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “plate” come from?

Plate comes from Old French plate, from Latin plata, from Latin plattus, from Ancient Greek πλατύς, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pléth₂us meaning broad or flat.

plate (English): A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which...

Definitions

  1. A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which...

Ancestry of “plate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchplatea flat metal disk; a flat plate of armor
2Medieval Latinplatasilver
3Vulgar Latinplattusflattened; flat; smooth
4Ancient Greekπλατύςwide, broad; flat, level; broad-shouldered
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpléth₂usflat, broad
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpleth₂-flat

Words derived from “plate”

  • platelet
  • plating
  • antiplatelet
  • nameplate
  • boilerplate
  • endplate
  • plateful
  • footplate
  • copperplate
  • faceplate
  • baseplate
  • microplate
  • hotplate
  • platy
  • intraplate
  • bookplate
  • subplate
  • plater
  • platelike
  • backplate
  • bedplate
  • doorplate
  • electroplate
  • interplate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleth₂- →