tem·plate also tem·plet 
(tĕmplĭt)
(tĕmplĭt)n.
1. A pattern or gauge, such as a thin metal plate with a cut pattern, used as a guide in making something accurately, as in woodworking or the carving of architectural profiles.
2. Computers
a. A document or file having a preset format, used as a starting point for a particular application so that the format does not have to be recreated each time it is used: a loan amortization template for a spreadsheet program.
b. An overlay that fits over all or part of a keyboard and has labels describing the functions of each key within a particular application.
3. A horizontal piece of stone or timber used to distribute weight or pressure, as over a door frame.
4. Biochemistry A molecule of a nucleic acid, such as DNA, that serves as a pattern for the synthesis of a macromolecule, as of RNA.
[Probably from French templet, diminutive of temple, temple of a loom; see TEMPLE3.]