plat

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pla/^[1]

Forms

plat (feminine plate, masculine plural plats, feminine plural plates)^[1] Feminine platte in the Académie of 1694 and 1718, plate from 1740.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *plattus, borrowed from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “broad, flat”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The Greek word belongs with Sanskrit पृथु (pṛthú, “broad”) to an Indo-European root for “broad”; Latin plānus may go back to the same root.^[3][7]

Cognate with Italian piatto, Occitan plat and Spanish chato; the noun “plat” “dish” passed into Italian piatto and Spanish plato.^[4][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) says of a horse that les jambes a plates, with legs not arched, Philippe de Thaon (1119) uses it for a flat, even surface.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Old French applied it to parts of the body without relief (about 1175), to thin objects (boutons plas, 1260) and to land without relief: plat pays (1375), often said of Belgium in the 20th century.^[2][3] Pied plat (about 1250) became a 17th-century insult for commoners, who wore shoes without heels.^[3][4] Figurative senses followed: dull, without interest, and servile, calme plat is from Trévoux (1704).^[2][9]

As a noun plat meant the flat part of something (le plat de l'épée, 14th century) and, from 1328, a flat dish, then the food served in it, a course.^[4][7][10] Phrases include mettre les pieds dans le plat and faire tout un plat de.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Jambes plates, Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• 1119 – “Flat, even”, Philippe de Thaon.^[2]
• 1328 – Noun “dish”.^[7]
• 1375 – Plat pais, Eustache Deschamps.^[2]
• 1678 – Souliers plats, La Fontaine.^[2]
• 1694 – The derivative platitude.^[4]
• 1704 – Calme plat.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. flat, level, even: un pays plat, à plat ventre, chaussures plates.^[7][1]
2. Shallow, thin: assiette plate, eau plate, still water.^[2][7]
3. Dull, insipid; flat: un style plat, calme plat.^[2][9]
4. Servile, obsequious: de plates excuses.^[2]

Noun

1. A dish, serving plate.^[7][1]
2. A dish, course: plat du jour, plat de résistance, main course.^[1][7]
3. The flat part (of something): le plat de la main; a flat stretch of road.^[2][1]
4. Mettre les pieds dans le plat: to put one's foot in it, faire tout un plat de, to make a fuss about.^[1]

Word family

• platement
• plateau
• platitude
• aplatir
• méplat
• plate-bande
• plate-forme

Related words

• platine
• plafond
• Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 44a
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette