English
plate
Plate comes from Old French plate, from Medieval Latin plata, from Vulgar Latin *plattus ‘flat’, from Ancient Greek πλατύς ‘broad, flat’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleth₂-1‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pléth₂us1‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*plətús1‘wide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλατύς2platús‘broad’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*plattus2‘flat’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500plata2
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400plate2‘a flat metal disk’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500plate2
- Englishearliest quotation 1590plate2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πλατύς
- 2 Wiktionary, English plate
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto V: “He hewd, and lasht, and foynd, and thondred blowes,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleth₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πλατύς‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pléth₂usWiktionary, Ancient Greek πλατύς‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*plətúsWiktionary, Ancient Greek πλατύς‘wide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλατύςWiktionary, English plateplatús‘broad’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*plattusWiktionary, English plate‘flat’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500plataWiktionary, English plate
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400plateWiktionary, English plate‘a flat metal disk’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500plateWiktionary, English plate
- Englishearliest quotation 1590plateWiktionary, English plate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto V: “He hewd, and lasht, and foynd, and thondred blowes,…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with plate, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- ‘flat’
through Proto-Hellenic *plətús ‘wide, broad’
- plaza ← platea ← πλᾰτεῖᾰ ← πλᾰτῠ́ς
through Ancient Greek πλατύς ‘broad, flat, wide’
26 more relatives in the full family tree
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Another origin of plate
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplata
- Old Englishc. 450–1150platian
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500platen
- Englishtodayplate
Another origin of plate
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleth₂-‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pléth₂us‘flat, broad’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*plətús‘wide, broad’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλατύς‘wide’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*plattus‘flat’reconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*platta‘metal plate’reconstructedfeminine of *plattus
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplata‘silver’
- Englishtodayplate
Another origin of plate
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleth₂-‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pléth₂us‘flat, broad’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*plətús‘wide, broad’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλατύς‘wide’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*plattareconstructed
- Spanishc. 1500–presentplata‘silver’
- Englishtodayplate
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Today it means
noun A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which food is served or eaten.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “plate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek πλατύς. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- / plate