silver-plate
|sil-ver-plate|
🇺🇸
/ˈsɪlvərˌpleɪt/
🇬🇧
/ˈsɪlvəˌpleɪt/
coated with silver
Etymology
'silver-plate' is a compound of the words 'silver' and 'plate', both from English sources: 'silver' from Old English 'seolfor' and 'plate' from Middle English via Old French 'plate'.
'silver' comes from Old English 'seolfor' and developed into the Modern English 'silver'; 'plate' came into English from Old French 'plate' (from Late Latin plattus or platum meaning 'flat'), and the compound 'silver-plate' developed in Modern English to describe either a sheet of silver or the act of coating with silver.
Originally 'plate' referred to a flat piece or sheet of metal; over time the compound came to mean both a sheet/coating of silver and the verb sense 'to coat with silver', and the current uses include noun (an object with a silver coating) and verb (to apply that coating).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
an object or item coated with a thin layer of silver; an item made by applying a silver coating.
The silver-plate on the mantel caught the light.
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Verb 1
to coat or cover an object with a thin layer of silver (to apply a silver plating).
They silver-plate the cutlery to give it a shiny finish.
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Adjective 1
past participle or adjective form of 'silver-plate' (meaning coated with silver).
The bowl is silver-plate.
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Last updated: 2026/01/17 21:41