plat French · revision 16585

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland|origins=grc πλατύς}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pla/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''plat''' (feminine plate, masculine plural plats, feminine plural plates)^(Wiktionary)

+ Feminine ''platte'' in the Académie of 1694 and 1718, ''plate'' from 1740.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*plattus]], borrowed from [[grc|πλατύς|tr=platús|t=broad, flat]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|9, 44a) The Greek word belongs with [[sa|पृथु|tr=pṛthú|t=broad]] to an Indo-European root for “broad”; [[la|plānus]] may go back to the same root.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|piatto]], [[oc|plat]] and [[es|chato]]; the noun “plat” “dish” passed into [[it|piatto]] and [[es|plato]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==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.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==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.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Pied plat'' (about 1250) became a 17th-century insult for commoners, who wore shoes without heels.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Figurative senses followed: dull, without interest, and servile, ''calme plat'' is from Trévoux (1704).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ 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.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873) Phrases include ''mettre les pieds dans le plat'' and ''faire tout un plat de''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Jambes plates'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1119 – “Flat, even”, Philippe de Thaon.^(TLFi)

+ * 1328 – Noun “dish”.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1375 – ''Plat pais'', Eustache Deschamps.^(TLFi)

+ * 1678 – ''Souliers plats'', La Fontaine.^(TLFi)

+ * 1694 – The derivative ''platitude''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1704 – ''Calme plat''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|flat]], level, even: ''un pays plat'', ''à plat ventre'', ''chaussures plates''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Shallow, thin: ''assiette plate'', ''eau plate'', still water.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Dull, insipid; flat: ''un style plat'', ''calme plat''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Servile, obsequious: ''de plates excuses''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|dish]], serving plate.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A dish, course: ''plat du jour'', ''plat de résistance'', main course.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # The flat part (of something): ''le plat de la main''; a flat stretch of road.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Mettre les pieds dans le plat'': to put one's foot in it, ''faire tout un plat de'', to make a fuss about.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[platement]]

+ * [[plateau]]

+ * [[platitude]]

+ * [[aplatir]]

+ * [[méplat]]

+ * [[plate-bande]]

+ * [[plate-forme]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[platine]]

+ * [[plafond]]

+ * [[grc|πλατύς|tr=platús]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}