platy¹ see under plate

platy² /platˈi/

A small brightly-coloured viviparous Central American fish (genus Xiphophorus)

platy- /plat-i-/

Signifying flat or broad

plate /plāt/

1. A shallow dish of any of various sizes according to purpose, eg dessert plate, dinner plate, side plate
2. A plateful
3. A portion served on a plate
4. A sheet, slab, or lamina of metal or other hard material, usu flat or flattish
5. Metal in the form of sheets
6. A broad piece of armour
7. A scute or separate portion of an animal's shell
8. A broad thin piece of a structure or mechanism
9. A plate-like section of the earth's crust, involved in plate tectonics (see below)
10. A piece of metal, wood, etc, bearing or to bear an inscription to be affixed to anything
11. An engraved piece of metal for printing from
12. An impression printed from it, an engraving
13. An illustration in a book, esp a whole-page one separately printed and inserted
14. A mould from type, etc, for printing from, as an electrotype or stereotype
15. Part of a denture fitting the mouth and carrying the teeth
16. The whole denture
17. A device worn in the mouth by some children in order to straighten the teeth
18. A film-coated sheet of glass or other material to photograph on
19. A plate rail (see below)
20. A horizontal supporting timber in building
21. A five-sided white slab at the home base (baseball)
22. A light racing horseshoe
23. A thermionic valve anode (orig flat)
24. Precious metal, esp silver (historical; Sp plata silver)
25. A silver coin (Shakespeare)
26. Wrought gold or silver
27. Household utensils in gold or silver
28. Table utensils generally
29. Plated ware such as Sheffield plate, a silver-plated copper ware
30. A cup or other prize for a race or other contest
31. A race or contest for such a prize
32. A church collection
33. (in pl) the feet (slang; orig rhyming slang for plates of meat)

1. To overlay with metal
2. To armour with metal
3. To cover with a thin film of another metal
4. To put (food) onto a plate in preparation for eating
5. To make a printing plate of

plaˈted adjective

1. Covered with plates of metal
2. Covered with a coating of another metal, esp gold or silver
3. Armoured with hard scales or bone (zoology)

plateˈful noun

As much as a plate will hold

plateˈlet noun

A minute particle in blood, concerned in clotting

plateˈ-like adjective

plāˈter noun

1. A person who or something which plates
2. A moderate horse entered for a minor, esp a selling, race

plāˈting noun

plāˈty adjective

1. Plate-like
2. Separating into plates

plate armour noun

Protective armour of metal plates

plateˈ-basket noun

A basket for forks, spoons, etc

plateˈ-fleet noun (historical)

Ships that carried American silver to Spain

plate glass noun

A fine kind of glass used for mirrors and shop-windows, orig poured in a molten state on an iron plate

plateˈ-glass adjective

1. Made with or consisting of plate glass
2. (of a building) having large plate-glass windows, appearing to be built entirely of plate glass
3. (hence) used of any very modern building or institution, esp British universities founded in the mid-20c

plateˈlayer noun

A person who lays, fixes, and attends to the rails of a railway

plateˈ-leather noun

A chamois leather for rubbing gold and silver

plateˈmaker noun

A person or machine that makes printing plates

plateˈman noun

A man who has the care of silver plate in a hotel, club, etc

plateˈmark noun

A hallmark

plateˈ-powder noun

A polishing powder for silver

plateˈ-printˈing noun

The process of printing from engraved plates

plateˈ-proof noun

A proof taken from a plate

plate rack noun

A frame for holding plates, etc, when not in use or when draining after washing

plate rail noun

On early railways, a flat rail with an outer flange

plateˈ-room noun

A room where silver-plated goods or printing plates are kept

plateˈ-ship noun (historical)

A ship bringing silver to Spain from the Americas

plate tectonics singular noun (geology)

1. The interacting movements of the rigid plates or sections that make up the earth's crust, floating on the semi-molten rock of the interior
2. The science or study of these movements
3. The study of the crust in terms of this theory

plateˈ-warmer noun

An apparatus for warming dinner plates or keeping them warm

halfˈ-plate

(in photography) a size of plate measuring 43/4 by 61/2 inches (41/4 by 51/2 in the USA)

hand or give (someone something) on a plate (figurative)

To cause or allow (someone) to achieve or obtain (something) without the least effort

on one's plate (figurative)

In front of one, waiting to be dealt with

quarˈter-plate

(in photography) a plate size 31/4 by 41/4 inches

step up to the plate

To accept a burden or responsibility

wholeˈ-plate

(in photography) a plate size 61/2 by 81/2 inches

• stingings
• sting in the tail
• close harmonies
• close harmony
• close-hauled
• closehead
• closeheads
• close in
• close-in
• close in upon
• close-knit
• close-lipped
• closely
• close-mouthed
• closeness
• closenesses
• close on
• close one's eyes
• close one's eyes to
• close quarters
• closer
• close-range
• close ranks
• close-reefed
• closers