Library / English Dictionary

PALATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The upper surface of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities

Synonyms:

palate; roof of the mouth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("palate" is a kind of...):

surface (the extended two-dimensional outer boundary of a three-dimensional object)

Meronyms (parts of "palate"):

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)

Holonyms ("palate" is a part of...):

mouth; oral cavity; oral fissure; rima oris (the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge)

Derivation:

palatal (relating to or lying near the palate)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Present simple (first person singular and plural, second person singular and plural, third person plural) of the verb palate

Credits

 Context examples: 

A squamous cell carcinoma that arises from the hard or soft palate.

(Palate Squamous Cell Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A mucoepidermoid carcinoma arising from the minor salivary glands in the hard palate.

(Hard Palate Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

The soft flap of tissue that hangs down at the back of the mouth (at the edge of the soft palate).

(Palatine uvula, NCI Dictionary)

An adenoid cystic carcinoma arising from the minor salivary glands in the hard palate.

(Hard Palate Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

An aggressive, progressive, and destructive lesion affecting the nasal cavities, paranasal sinuses, and the palate.

(Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinus Lethal Midline Granuloma, NCI Thesaurus)

A benign, slow-growing and painless neoplasm that arises from the minor salivary glands in the hard palate.

(Hard Palate Pleomorphic Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

The part of the pharynx between the soft palate and the upper portion of the epiglottis.

(Oropharynx, NCI Thesaurus)

One of the many racemose mucous glands within the back half of the hard palate submucosa.

(Palatine Salivary Gland, NCI Thesaurus)

A rare congenital malformation characterized by micrognathia, posterior retraction of the tongue, and cleft palate.

(Pierre Robin Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

Might I trouble you to open the window, for chloroform vapour does not help the palate.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)