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palate

[pal-it]

noun

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

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

intellectual or aesthetic taste; mental appreciation.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English palat < Latin palātum roof of the mouth

Related forms

pal·ate·less, adjective

pal·ate·like, adjective

Can be confused: palate, palette, pallet.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Palate is always a great word to know.

So is hard palate. Does it mean:

part of the body that connects the head and the trunk

roof of the mouth consisting of an anterior bony portion and posterior muscular portion

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Example Sentences

The cleft palate is a common and serious birth defect, but you don't hear much about it.

Sweetbreads require a much more sophisticated palate.

However, my wine merchant claims that the slope of the function is unique to the consumer's palate.

EXPAND

The cleft palate is a common and serious birth defect, but you don't hear much about it.

Sweetbreads require a much more sophisticated palate.

However, my wine merchant claims that the slope of the function is unique to the consumer's palate.

They may be pricey but your palate will be grateful.

The atoms get their space, and the color palate has shifted toward green.

Meals were expected to please both the palate and the eye.

Hot and cool, invigorating yet soothing, ginger dances on the palate.

And have some water, mild fruit, bread or crackers available to help cleanse your palate between wines.

Variations in size or structure of either jaw may affect its shape, as can birth defects such as cleft lip and palate.

Next to familiar drinks-viski, dzin and koniak-you will find those catering to the local palate.

The world's palate is evolving back to natural foods.

And swishing and swirling wine across your palate definitely makes the mouth feel good.

Repairing a cleft lip or palate in the developed world is rather low risk and deaths are rare.

The choice of tea is mind-boggling to my coffee-soaked palate.

In other paintings on display in the exhibit, he used a primarily blue palate in homage to the cobalt blue of the china he loved.

Reposado keeps the blue agave taste and is gentler to the palate.

Cleft lip and palate are birth defects that affect the upper lip and the roof of the mouth.

His teeth had no cavities, and though his palate had a small cleft, he was probably unaware of.

Three ways to stuff a pocket, and please every palate.

In a season awash with fruitcake and candy canes, nothing revives a weary palate better than a tangy fresh oyster.

My eldest has recently developed a taste for spicy stuff and has a hotter palate than his dad.

It is certainly true that the palate is effected detrimentally whilst inflight, however the cause.

It may spoil your palate for any future fried chicken you eat, but you really won't mind.

Even the carbonation serves a purpose, cleansing the palate for complex seasonings.

It all worked, in a weird way, though my stomach didn't seem to appreciate the meal's diversity as much as my palate did.

The wild flavor pairings high-profile chefs once used to attract attention are losing steam as the popular palate warms to.

Citrus is refreshing on the palette as well as the palate.

Bayless's genius is that he doesn't paralyze your palate or use spice or pepper as camouflage for real flavor.

The variety was maintained to avoid tiring his palate.

There his exceptional palate and skills as a salesman soon made him the firm's main table-wine buyer.

Cleanse your palate between tastings with water or bread.

The eye can influence wine choices almost as easily as the nose or the palate.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

palate (ˈpælɪt)

—n
1.	hard palate See soft palate the roof of the mouth, separating the oral and nasal cavitiesRelated: palatine
2.	the sense of taste: she had no palate for the wine
3.	relish or enjoyment
4.	botany (in some two-lipped corollas) the projecting part of the lower lip that closes the opening of the corolla

Related: palatine

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

palate

late 14c., "roof of the mouth," from O.Fr. palat, from L. palatum "roof of the mouth," perhaps of Etruscan origin. Popularly considered the seat of taste, hence transferred meaning "sense of taste" (1520s).

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

palate pal·ate (pāl'ĭt)
n.
The bony and muscular partition between the oral and nasal cavities; the roof of the mouth.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

palate (pāl'ĭt) Pronunciation Key
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.

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

palate [(pal-uht)]

The roof of the mouth. The palate separates the mouth from the nasal cavity.

Note: It is sometimes said that a person has a “cultivated palate” if he or she has a discerning taste for food.

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Matching Quote

"Solomon's Proverbs, I think, have omitted to say, that as the sore palate findeth grit, so an uneasy consciousness heareth innuendos."

-George Eliot

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