[pal-it] 
| 1. | 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. |
| 2. | the sense of taste: a dinner to delight the palate. |
| 3. | intellectual or aesthetic taste; mental appreciation. |
| soft palate n. The movable fold, consisting of muscular fibers enclosed in a mucous membrane, that is suspended from the rear of the hard palate and closes off the nasal cavity from the oral cavity during swallowing or sucking. |
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.
palate pal·ate (pāl'ĭt)
n.
The bony and muscular partition between the oral and nasal cavities; the roof of the mouth.
soft palate n.
The movable fold, consisting of muscular fibers enclosed in mucous membrane, that is suspended from the rear of the hard palate and closes off the nasal cavity from the oral cavity during swallowing or sucking.
| 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. |
| soft palate
See under palate. |