▪ I. palate, n. (a.)
(ˈpælət)
Forms: 4–7 palat, palet, 5 palett, 6–7 pallate, 7 pallat, pallet, 5– palate.
[ad. L. palātum palate. See also the obs. palace n.2 a. F. palais.]
1. The roof of the mouth (in man and vertebrates generally); the structures, partly bony and partly fleshy (see b), which separate the cavity of the mouth from that of the nose.
| 1382 Wyclif Lam. iv. 4 Cleuede to the tonge of the soukende to his palet in thrist [ad palatum eius in siti]. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 249 The anguysshe of harte dryed so the tongue & palate of the vyrgyn. 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 24 b/2 The pallate or Vvula of the mouth. 1668 Wilkins Real Char. iii. xii. 367 (Ng) is framed by an appulse of the Root of the Tongue towards the inner part of the Palat. a 1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 167 To fricasey Ox Palates. c 1817 Hogg Tales & Sk. V. 112 My tongue and palate became dry and speechless. 1844 Key Alphabet, etc. 25 M, n, ng..sounds depending partly upon the nose, and partly upon the lips, teeth, and palate, respectively. |
b. bony palate or
hard palate: the anterior and chief part of the palate, consisting of bone covered with thick mucous membrane.
soft palate: the posterior part of the palate, a pendulous fold of musculo-membranous tissue separating the mouth-cavity from the pharynx, and terminating below in the uvula; also called
veil of the palate.
cleft palate: see
cleft ppl. a. b.
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 161 In the bony palate of fish..all powers of distinguishing are utterly taken away. 1811 Hooper Med. Dict., Palatum molle, the soft palate. This lies behind the bony palate. 1890 Sweet Prim. Phonetics 8 The roof of the mouth consists of two parts, the ‘soft’ and the ‘hard’ palate. |
† c. falling down of the palate,
the palate down, etc.: ‘a term for a relaxed uvula’ (
Syd. Soc. Lex.).
| 1618 Fletcher Loyal Subj. iii. ii, Your Pallat's downe Sir. 1664 Pepys Diary 23 Sept., My cold and pain in my head increasing, and the palate of my mouth falling, I was in great pain. 1684 A. Littleton Lat. Dict., Columella, the swelling of the uvula, or falling down of the palate of the mouth. 1687–8 G. Miege Gt. Fr. Dict. s.v. Luette, The palate of the mouth down, la luette abattue. |
2. Popularly considered as the seat of taste; hence
transf. the sense of taste.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 87 b, Breed to a sore mouth is sharpe & harde, whiche to a hole palate is swete & pleasaunt. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 96 Let their pallats Be season'd with such Viands. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xiii. 184 As soon may the same meat please all palats. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 409 ¶2 Every different Flavour that affects the Palate. 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 16 Meats that require salt,..according to the palate of the consumers. 1885 Bible (R.V.) Job xii. 11 Even as the palate tasteth its meat. |
b. fig. Mental taste or liking.
| 1435 Misyn Fire of Love 90 Þa haue..þe palate of þe hart filyd with feuyr of wykkyd lufe, qwarfor þai may not fele swetnes of heuenly Ioy. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 338 Heere the Troyans taste our deer'st repute With their fin'st Pallate. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 39 Any subject that was not to their palat, they..condemn'd. 1742 Young Nt. Th. ix. 2067 Thou, to whose Palate Glory is so sweet. 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. vi. xlvi, I heard a little too much preaching,..and lost my palate for it. |
3. Bot. A convex projection of the lower lip closing the throat of the corolla of a personate flower, as the snapdragon.
This curious use goes back to early botanists,
e.g. Tournefort, Dillenius, Linnæus. It may have arisen from taking
palātum in the wider sense of
Germ. gaumen,
Sw. gom,
OHG. goumo, ‘interior of the mouth, palate, throat, jaws’.
| [1732 Dillenius Hort. Eltham. 200 Labium..inferius tripartitum cuius palatum grandiuscula productio.. occupat.] 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. iii. xxii. (1765) 228 Palatum, the Palate, is a Gibbosity or bunching out in the Faux of the Corolla. 1880 Gray Struct. Bot. 248 A bilabiate corolla is..Personate, or masked, when the throat is closed, more or less, by a projection of the lower lip called the Palate. |
4. Entom. The epipharynx of an insect, a fleshy lobe beneath the labrum.
| 1867 J. Hogg Microsc. i. iii. 220 Entomological specimens such as..tongues, palates, corneae, etc. show best in balsam. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
palate-bone,
palate-myograph,
palate-plate,
palate-pleaser,
palate-pleasure;
palate-biting,
palate-pleasing, etc.,
adjs.;
† palate-man, a man given to the pleasures of the palate, an epicure (so
palate people.)
| 1812 W. Tennant Anster F. ii. viii, Some bring..From Flushing's port, the *palate-biting gin. |
| 1727–41 Monro Anat. (ed. 3) 138 Each *palate-bone may..be divided into four Parts. 1876 Clin. Soc. Trans. IX. 124 The horizontal plate of the palate-bone. |
| 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 207 The commonness of *palate-defect..appears to be largely due to its correlation with some degree of brain-deficiency. |
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Bucks. i. (1662) 128 Whether these tame be as good as wild-pheasants, I leave to *Pallate men to decide. |
| 1890 J. S. Billings Nat. Med. Dict. II. 277 *Palate-myograph, an instrument for recording graphically the motions of the soft palate in speaking. |
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Cornwall (1662) 194 Our *Palate-people are much pleased therewith [garlic]. |
| 1782 Monro Anat. 102 The *palate-plate is cribriform about the middle. |
| 1620 Venner Via Recta iii. 52, I will here aduertise all *pallat-pleasers, that they shall sooner surfet..with pork, then with any other flesh. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Suave,..sweet,..*palate-pleasing, delicious. 1657 G. Starkey Helmont's Vind. To Rdr., Ridiculous (barely palat-pleasing) toyes. |
| 1638 T. Whitaker Blood of Grape 48, I speake not phantastically, or from any *palate-pleasure. |
| 1800 Lamb Lett. (1886) I. 286 The..*palate-soothing flesh of geese. |
† B. adj. Pleasant to the palate or taste; palatable.
Obs. rare.
| 1617 Hieron Wks. (1619–20) II. 210 The most perfit and palate wine (they say) doth make the quickest vinegar. |
▪ II. palate, v. rare.
(
ˈpælət)
[f. prec. n.] 1. trans. To perceive or try with the palate, to taste; to gratify the palate with, to enjoy the taste of, relish. Also
fig.| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iv. i. 59 You..that defend her, Not pallating the taste of her dishonour. 1739 R. Bull tr. Dedekindus' Grobianus 32 What fairest seems and best, when palated, offends th' unwary Guest. 1760 C. Johnston Chrysal (1822) II. 299 ‘This wine?’ answered my master, palating it two or three times. 1844 Tupper Twins xxix. 213 The proud, unsullied family of Stuart, could not palate it at all. 1860 Ruskin Mod. Paint. V. ix. v. §5. 247 Nothing was to be fed upon as bread, but only palated as a dainty. |
† 2. To make palatable, to season.
Obs.| 1610 W. Folkingham Art of Survey Ep. Ded. 2 Labouring, with invulgar Ingredients, to palate an ill seasoned Seruice. 1845 [see blanc 2]. |
▪ III. palate obs. or
erron. form of
pallet.