ˈplat ə n noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle French plateine, from plate thin plate, plaque (from Old French, from feminine of plat, adjective, flat) + -ine — more at plate
1.
a. : a flat plate (as of metal) usually designed to press or to be pressed against by something: as
(1) : a flat surface (as on a hand press or platen press) that presses the paper against the form
(2) : the movable table of a planer or similar machine tool
(3) : either of two plates of a testing machine that apply a load to a specimen under test
(4) : a diaphragm or plate in a molding machine against which the flask is forced by pressure from below
(5) : a sometimes heated flat surface against which materials are pressed for flattening, curing, or laminating
(6) : a circular flanged rotating plate in a phonograph turntable upon which a record rests during reproduction
b. : a hard roll that serves as a backing against which the paper is pressed when the typebars of a typewriter strike to make an imprint
2.
[by alteration]
obsolete : paten 1