palate definition - Dictionary

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palate

pal·ate [ pállət ] (plural pal·ates)

noun

Definition:

1. roof of mouth: the roof of the mouth, which separates it from the nasal cavity. It consists of a bony hard palate at the front and a muscular soft palate at the rear.

2. sense of taste: a personal sense of taste and flavor

3. aesthetic taste: intellectual or aesthetic tastes or sensibilities

4. botany part of flower: the lower projection of a flower such as the snapdragon, divided into two lips

[14th century. < Latin palatum]

Spelling Note


	palate, palette, or pallet? Do not confuse the spelling of palate, palette, and pallet, which sound similar. A palate is the roof of the mouth, or a personal sense of taste, as in the soft palate, dishes to please all palates. A palette or pallet is a board for an artist's paints, or the colors available on a computer display. As well as meaning "an artist's palette," pallet also denotes a tray on which to stack loads, a board on which to dry ceramics, a tool with which to mix clay, or a straw-filled mattress.