Sea-bat (f'latax 
Platanistidae 
>re fluvlatile or estuarlne dolphins of warm waters, li.iv 
Ing a small or obsolete duraal fin, broad truncate flippci -. 
distinct flukes, external indication of a neck, free cervical 
vertebra-, a long inandibular sympliysta, no distinct lacry- 
inal bone, distinct tubercular and c;ipiinl:u- articulations 
of the ribs, and long slender jaws with very numerous 
functional teeth. 
Platanus (plat'a-ims), . [NL. (Tournefort, 
1700), < L. platautu, < Gr. ir/drovof, the plane- 
tree : see plutane, planes.] A genus of trees 
constituting the order Pkitanacese, and consist- 
ing of 6 species, by some authors reduced to 
3, natives of temperate or subtropical parts of 
the northern hemisphere, '2, or perhaps 3, con- 
fined to America, and 2 to the Old World ; the 
plane-trees. They are large trees, with the light-brown 
nark often scaling off in broad, thin, and roundish Hakes, 
exposing a whitish Inner layer, and giving the trunk a 
naked or spotted appearance wholly unlike that of any 
other tree. They bear alternate broadly deltoid leaves, 
palmately nerved and lobed, the dilated leafstalk cover- 
ing the leaf-bud of the year following. See buttoitball, syca- 
more, and chinar-tree, and cut under plane-tree. 
Plata! (pla'taks), . [NL. (Cuvier, 18L X J), < 
Gr. ir/iiraf, a fish 
like a perch, also 
called aoiMKivof, 
prob. < 
flat : 
The typical ge- 
nus of Plataci- 
die, remarkable 
for the height 
or depth of the 
bodv. 
platband (plaf- 
baud), n. [< F. 
platebaiidc, plat- 
band, lintel, bor- 
der, OF. platte- 
bande, a flat 
band, < plate, 
fern, of plat, flat, 
+ bande, band: see band 1 .'] 1. A border of 
flowers in a garden, or along a wall or the side 
of a parterre. 2. In arch.: (u) Any flat rectan- 
gular molding the projection of which is much 
less than its width; a fascia, (b) A lintel formed 
with voussoirs in the manner of an arch, but 
with the intrados horizontal a common and 
vicious modern construction, but employed 
even in some Roman and medieval work in 
places where a true urch was not convenient, 
and when monoliths of sufficient size were not 
available. See cut of flutarc.li, under arch' 1 . (<) 
The fillets between the flutes of an louic or a 
Corinthian column. 
plat-blindt(plat'blind),rt. Entirely blind. Hal- 
liicell. 
plate (plat), n. [< ME. plate, a plate, < OF. 
plate, platte, plaite, plete, plctte, etc., f., a plate 
of metal, plate-armor, ingot, silver, also plat, in., 
a plate, platter, a flat surface, a low lake, a flat- 
boat, etc., plate, bullion, silver-plate, silver, F. 
plat, m., a dish, plate, scale (of a balance), lid 
(of a book), sheet (of glass), flat (of the hand), 
blade (of an oar), etc.; = Sp. plata, f., plate, 
silver, wrought metal, money, plato, m., a 
dish, plate, = Pg.prata, f., plate, silver, prato, 
m., a dish, plate, = It. piatta, f., a flatboat, 
piatto, m., a dish, plate (ML. plata, (., a dish, 
plate, platum, u., a dish, plate, plattuiii, a flat 
surface, plattts, m., a dish, plate, also piatta, f., 
the clerical tonsure); cf. AS. platung, a plate 
of metal (see plate, r.) ; OFries. platte , a shaven 
pate, = D. putt, flat side, flat form, = MLG. 
plate, a sheet of metal, = Icel. plata, a plate, 
mounted metal, = Sw. pl&t = Dan. plade, a 
sheet of metal ; 
MHG. plate, Q. 
platte, a plate, a 
shaven or bald 
pate; from the 
adj., F. plat, 
etc., flat: see 
plaft. Cf.patel, 
the same word, 
with loss of me- 
dial /. The uses 
of plate in part 
overlap those 
of the related 
nounplat s .~\ 1. 
A sheet of met- 
al of uniform 
thickness and 
even surface : 
as. a plate of 
tinur of piat. gold ; a steel 
jt. as tiistiiiyuis'icd from t, n lt ta 
chain-armor. pllllv. 
4537 
Over their forehead and eyes they |mules| have three 
pieces of plate, made either of bnuse or latten. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 09. 
2. A Hatpie?eof metal used to strengthen arms; 
hence, armor made of sheets of metal, as distin- 
guished from mail or chain-armor. See cut in 
preceding column. 
Over that a fyn hauberk 
Was ill ywrought of Jewel werk, 
Ful strong It wa of plait. 
Chaucer, Sir Thupaf , 1. 1S4. 
Ne lAiilr, ue male, could ward 10 mighty throwes. 
Speiiter, f. y., II. v. . 
Mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail. 
Milt::,,, P. I_, Vl. SB8. 
Squadrons and squares of men In brazen plate*. 
Trtuti/>n, Kair Women. 
3. A shallow dish of pottery, porcelain, or 
metal, on which food is served at table, or from 
which it is eaten ; also, a plateful ; a course or 
portion at table : as, a soup-plate; a fruit-/j/fr"; 
a plate of soup or of fish. 
Both me and mine he caus'd to dine, 
And serv'd us all with one plate. 
The Kin.jt Diujuite (Child's Ballads, V. 381). 
The European pilgrims dine and sup in the refectory 
with the monks ; . . . they are well served with three or 
four platen, and have excellent white-wine of tin ii own 
making. Pucocke, Description of the East, II. 1. 11. 
4. Gold or silver dishes and utensils used at 
table or in the home, including besides dishes 
other vessels, as cups, flagons, etc., as well as 
spoons, knives, forks, etc. : as, a sale of the fur- 
niture aud plate. 
A piece of antique plate, bought of si. Mark, 
With which he here presents you. 
II. JotuoH, Volpone, I. 1. 
The plate in the hall (all at the Queen's table being gold) 
was estimated to be worth nearly 400,000. 
First Year of a SWten J{ei,/u, p. 88. 
5. Articles which have been covered with a 
plating of precious metal not solid gold or 
silver; plated ware. 
Rich ulotf, even to the enamelling on gold, rich stuffs, 
and curious armour were carried to excess. 
Walpole, Anecdotes, I. 2, note. 
6. A cup or flagon or other article of gold or sil- 
ver awarded to the winner in a contest, as to the 
owner of the winning horse or the crew of the 
winning boat in a race; a "cup.'' 7. A beam 
or piece of timber laid horizontally in a wall to 
receive the ends of other tim- 
bers. The plate for roof-tim- 
bers, and also for joists, is 
called a wall-plate. Compare 
plaft, >i. , 1. 8. A flat piece 
of metal, as brass, copper, or 
steel, on which any represen- 
tation or inscription is en- 
graved: as, a aoQT-plate; a 
coffin-plate; especially, such 
a piece of metal so engraved 
for impression on paper, etc.: 
as, a book-;)/fr; a c&rA-plate; 
hence, the printed impression 
from an engraved plate: as, a 
book illustrated with plate*. 
9. A duplicate, in one piece 
of metal, of the face of com- 
posed types or woodcuts. Such 
plates are made by electrotype or 
stereotype process. Hates of book- 
pages are about one eighth of an Inch 
thick ; plates of newspaper-pages are 
much thicker. 
10. (a) In dentistry, a piece of 
metal or composition fitted to 
the mouth and holding the 
teeth of a denture. (6) In Ii 
Carpenter*' Plates. 
a, rafter-plate : *. 
purlin-plate; f, crown- 
plate ; J. wall-pUte. 
rologu, one of the two parallel pieces of tnetal to 
which the wheels are pivoted in a watch or 
clock, (c) The flat piece of metal forming the 
side of the lock of a firearm, (d) A flat piece 
of metal usually forming a part of the bed or 
bosh of a metallurgical furnace, (e) A com- 
monly rectangular piece of glass used in pho- 
tography to receive the picture. (/) In bane- 
ball, the home base. 
From the nature of things, a ball so knocked that It can- 
not be caught or fielded to the platt before the man can 
make the entire circuit of the bases yields an earned, or, 
as it Is In such instance more generally called, a "home 
run." The Century, XXXVIII. 835. 
(</) Xaut., a bar or band of iron, as infiittuck- 
plates. channel-plate, etc.; specifically, in iron 
ships, the metal which forms part of the strake 
on the ship's side. 11. Shale of the coal-mea- 
sures. It is in these strata that the finest spe- 
cimens of the coal-plants are most frequently 
found. Also called bintlg. 12. Plate-glass. 
plate 
The machine in use for polishing the glass isi 
that originally designed for the purpose ; It u not only 
used in plate-glass wnrk, but Is the machine used for pol- 
ishing that descilption of glass which Is known as "pal 
n\t jJtltf." lilaiu-inulniiij, p. 16K. 
13. The finest quality of pewter. 14. In anal., 
rod/., and bit., a plate-like part, organ, or struc- 
ture; a lamina or lamella ; a layer: not specific, 
the thing indicated being designated by a qual- 
ifying term. See cuts under carapace, Coluber, 
and ichalfbvne. 15f. A Spanish money of ac- 
count. Also called old plate. Eight reals of old 
plate made the peso </< plata, or piaster that 
is, the Spanish dollar. 
Be llkehe has some new trick for a purse ; 
And U he has, he Is worth three hundred plate*. 
Marlowe, Jew of Malta, U. 
Realms and Islands were 
As plait* ill upp'd from his pocket. 
Shale., A. and C., v. 2. (H. 
Ambulacra! plate. Seeambulacral. - Apairofplateit, 
armor for the oreast and back. 
SmniiH 1 woln have a peyre plate* large. 
Chaucer, Knights Tale. L 1262. 
Argentine plate, German silver. 
The manufacture of German silver, ur Arytntitie platr, 
became an object of commercial importance. 
Urt, Met, III. 411. 
Armor of plate. *&sae<u>plate-armor.- Auditory plate. 
See audili>rit crett, under auditory. Basilisk plates, 
plates of enameled pottery decorated with a basilisk, or 
similar animal, which are found from time to time in the 
neighborhood of Quimper, In the department of Flnlstere 
In France. They are thought to be specimens of tile fai- 
ence of Qulniper. but have often been classed as Rouen 
ware. See Quimper pottery, under pottery. Bobstay, 
branchial, buckled plates. See the qualifying words. 
British plate. Same as albata. Bulb plate, in iron- 
and iteel-inanuf. , a plate along the margin of which is 
rolled a rib or bulb thicker than the body of the plate. 
The plate resembles tee-Iron, except that the head of the 
tee, or what corresponds to it, Is more massive. Such 
plates are used in Iron ship-building for keelsons, etc., in 
bridge-building, and in iron architecture. Cardiac, cir- 
cumesophageal, clinold plate. See the adjectives. 
Coat of plates, coif of plate. See xi/2. coif. Com- 
pound armor-plate. See under anwr-jJate. Correct- 
ing-plate. Same aa compriuator ().- Costal, cribri- 
form, dry plate. Seethe adjectives. Dovetail-plates. 
See dovetail. Dumb-plate, the part at the bottom near 
the doors of a furnace where there are no air-openings or 
spaces ; the dead-plate. Endochrome, gate-end, geni- 
tal, gular plates. See the qualifying words. Equa- 
torial plate, in biol., the collection of rhiniiuilin-lllK'i s in 
the equator of the nuclear spindle during karyokinesls. 
Gold plate, gold vessels for use or ornament ; especially, 
table utensils of gold. Half-tone plates. See vhotu- 
procest. Head-block plate. See head-Muck.- Horn 
Rlate, in embryot., the remaining ectoderm of a gt-nn, 
>rming the epidermis of the embryo after the formation 
from ectoderm of the rudiment of the spinal canal. 
From this time the remaining portion of the skin-sen- 
sory layer is called the honi-plate or horn-layer, because 
the outer skin (epidermis) with 1U horny appendages 
nails, hah 1 , etc. develops f rom it. 
Uaecktl, Evol. of Man (trans.), I. SOU. 
Induction-plate, a small Insulated metal plate placed 
opposite one of the quadrants of an electrometer, used 
for reducing the sensitiveness of the instrument. For 
this purpose the electrified iMxly Is connected with the 
Induction-plate Instead of with the quadrant directly. 
In order that somewhat larger differences may be mea- 
sured, the Induction Plate Is introduced to diminish the 
sensitiveness. ./ K. //. Gordon, Elect, and Mag., I. 44. 
Jugular, madreporic, medullary plate, see the ad- 
jectives. Locking-plate. Siinn' as i'<ii/iif n-A<r<. Main 
S'ate, the principal plate of a lock. Muscular plate, 
me as mtutdr-platf. Nasal, negative, occipital, oc- 
ular, orbital plate. See the adjectives. Patching up 
plates. See patch. Patent plate, a name given In Eng- 
land to cylinder-glass. Perisomatlc plates. See peri- 
omaKe. Plate diamond. See diamond. Plate of a 
furnace. See dead-plate. Plate Of wind, in organ- 
building, the flat sheet or jet of air which la projected 
through the flue of a Hue-pipe against the upper lip of the 
mouth, and by the fluctuations of which the tone is pro- 
duced. Plate-welding hammer, a steam-hammer of 
special form. K. U. Knight. Pterygostomial plates, 
radial plates. See the adjectives. Ribbed plate, sheet- 
metal with Its surface alternately ribbed or corrugated. 
Kibbed plate Is made by using a roller with grooves on 
its surface. Workshop Receipts, 1st sen, p. .">. 
Ship-plate, an Inferior quality of wrought-lron plate. 
Wrought-lron plates ... are manufactured of ... coarse, 
brittle, and uncertain material, sometimes sold as Mp- 
plate. K. Wilton, Steam Boilers, p. !. 
Terminal plate, in biol., the end-plate of a nerve-fiber. 
Wheel-guard plate (fntftf.), the rub-iron of a field- 
artillery carriage. (See also armor-plate, bottom -plate, 
footing-plate, him-plate, neve-plate, upreadiny-plate, tit- 
'plate.) 
plate (plat), r. I.; pret. and pp. plated, ppr. 
lilnting. [< ME. 'platen, < AS. "platian in 
romp, aplatian and verbal n. platung, a plate 
of metal: see plate, .] 1. To arm with plate- 
armor for defensr. 
Marshal, ask yonder knight in arms 
Both who he Is and why he cometh hither 
Thus vlalrd in habiliments of war. 
SAa*.,Rich. II., I. 3. SH. 
2. To overlay or coat with silver, gold, or 
other metal; specifically, to attach a perma- 
