palate

the roof of the mouth; taste: a fine palate for gourmet food

Not to be confused with:

palette – an artist’s paint board; the set of colors on such a board

pallet – bed; platform; a shaping tool used by potters

pal·ate

(păl′ĭt)

1. The roof of the mouth in vertebrates having a complete or partial separation of the oral and nasal cavities and consisting of the hard palate and the soft palate.

2. Botany The projecting part on the lower lip of a bilabiate corolla that closes the throat, as in a snapdragon.

3. The sense of taste: delicacies pleasing to the most refined palate.

[Middle English, from Old French palat, from Latin palātum, perhaps of Etruscan origin.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

palate

(ˈpælɪt)

1. (Anatomy) the roof of the mouth, separating the oral and nasal cavities. See hard palate, soft palate

2. the sense of taste: she had no palate for the wine.

3. relish or enjoyment

4. (Botany) botany (in some two-lipped corollas) the projecting part of the lower lip that closes the opening of the corolla

[C14: from Latin palātum, perhaps of Etruscan origin]

Usage: Avoid confusion with palette, pallet¹, pallet²

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pal•ate

(ˈpæl ɪt)

n.

1. the roof of the mouth in mammals, consisting of an anterior bony portion (hard palate) and a posterior fleshy portion (soft palate) that separate the oral cavity from the nasal cavity.

2. the sense of taste: a dinner to delight the palate.

3. intellectual or aesthetic taste.

[1350–1400; Middle English palat < Latin palātum]

pal·ate

(păl′ĭt)

The roof of the mouth in vertebrate animals, separating the mouth from the passages of the nose. ♦ The bony part of the palate is called the hard palate. ♦ A soft, flexible, rear portion of the palate, called the soft palate, is present in mammals only and serves to close off the mouth from the nose during swallowing.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

palate

The roof of the mouth.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

palate - the upper surface of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities

roof of the mouth

mouth, oral cavity, oral fissure, rima oris - the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge; "he stuffed his mouth with candy"

gustatory organ, taste bud, tastebud - an oval sensory end organ on the surface of the tongue

soft palate, velum - a muscular flap that closes off the nasopharynx during swallowing or speaking

hard palate - the bony part of the roof of the mouth

surface - the extended two-dimensional outer boundary of a three-dimensional object; "they skimmed over the surface of the water"; "a brush small enough to clean every dental surface"; "the sun has no distinct surface"

palate

noun taste, heart, stomach, appetite a selection of dishes to tempt every palate

Related words
adjective palatine

Usage: This word is occasionally confused with palette: I have a sweet palate (not palette).

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

حَنَك، سَقْف الفَمذَوْق، طَعْم

patrocitlivý jazyk

ganesmag

GaumenPalatum

ουρανίσκος

palato

paladar

kitalakisuulaki

palais

nepce

szájpadlás

bragîskynefri gómur

palato palazzo gustoso

gomurys

aukslējasgaršagaršas izjūta

evne som matkjenner evne som vinkjenner gane

podniebienie

palato

palat

нёбо

citlivý jazyk

nepce

damakdamak zevki

上腭味觉鉴赏力

palate

[ˈpælɪt] N (Anat) → paladar m
to have a delicate palate → tener un paladar delicado
to have no palate for wine → no tener paladar para el vino
I have no palate for that kind of activity → no aguanto or no puedo tragar ese tipo de actividad
hard palate → paladar m
soft palate → velo m del paladar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

palate

[ˈpælət] n

(ANATOMY) → palais m

(= sense of taste) → palais m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

palate

n (lit) → Gaumen m; to have a sensitive palate → einen empfindlichen Gaumen haben; to have no palate for something (fig) → keinen Sinn für etw haben

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

palate

[ˈpælɪt] n (Anat) (fig) → palato

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

palate

(ˈpӕlət) noun

1. the top of the inside of the mouth.

2. the ability to tell good wine, food etc from bad. He has a good palate for wine.

pal·ate

n. paladar; velo del paladar;

pop. cielo de la boca;

bony ___ → ___ óseo;

hard ___ → ___ duro;

soft ___ → ___ blando.

palate

n paladar m; cleft — paladar hendido; hard — paladar duro; soft — paladar blando

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The palate never ceases to rebel, and the palate can be trusted to know what is good for the body.

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His cigar was burning well, and the flavor of old Armignac lingered still upon his palate.

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Does it appear impossible to your vile and corrupted Palate, to exist on Love?

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This is the story I promised to tell you, and if I have been tedious in telling it, I will not be slow to serve you; my hut is close by, and I have fresh milk and dainty cheese there, as well as a variety of toothsome fruit, no less pleasing to the eye than to the palate.

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To the gratification of my palate they paid the most unwearied attention.

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If there is any truth in that suggestion, I must be allowed to say 'tis because there is not the same taste and relish in the reading, and indeed it is to true that the difference lies not in the real worth of the subject so much as in the gust and palate of the reader.

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She has a room at the Kapernaumovs' the tailors, she lodges with them; Kapernaumov is a lame man with a cleft palate and all of his numerous family have cleft palates too.

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Jelinek kept rye bread on hand and smoked fish and strong imported cheeses to please the foreign palate. I liked to drop into his bar-room and listen to the talk.

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Grant is most kind and obliging to me, and though he is really a gentleman, and, I dare say, a good scholar and clever, and often preaches good sermons, and is very respectable, I see him to be an indolent, selfish bon vivant, who must have his palate consulted in everything; who will not stir a finger for the convenience of any one; and who, moreover, if the cook makes a blunder, is out of humour with his excellent wife.

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Not only did the habit of a lifetime prompt him to eat it raw, but the craving of his palate as well; for to him cooked flesh was spoiled flesh when compared with the rich and juicy meat of a fresh, hot kill.

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"Well, then, I, who am a sorcerer, as you know, change your bad into excellent bread, which I relish more than the best cake; and then I have the double pleasure of eating something that gratifies my palate, and of doing something that puts you in a rage.

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Some brought a book, a bunch of flowers, or a dainty to tempt the palate. Some cried frankly.

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