Plate n.
 1. A flat, or nearly flat, piece of metal, the thickness of which is small in comparison with the other dimensions; a thick sheet of metal; as, a steel plate.
 2. Metallic armor composed of broad pieces.
    Mangled . . . through plate and mail.   --Milton.
 3. Domestic vessels and utensils, as flagons, dishes, cups, etc., wrought in gold or silver.
 4. Metallic ware which is plated, in distinction from that which is silver or gold throughout.
 5. A small, shallow, and usually circular, vessel of metal or wood, or of earth glazed and baked, from which food is eaten at table.
 6.  A piece of money, usually silver money. [Obs.] “Realms and islands were as plates dropp'd from his pocket.”
 7. A piece of metal on which anything is engraved for the purpose of being printed; hence, an impression from the engraved metal; as, a book illustrated with plates; a fashion plate.
 8. A page of stereotype, electrotype, or the like, for printing from; as, publisher's plates.
 9. That part of an artificial set of teeth which fits to the mouth, and holds the teeth in place. It may be of gold, platinum, silver, rubber, celluloid, etc.
 10. Arch. A horizontal timber laid upon a wall, or upon corbels projecting from a wall, and supporting the ends of other timbers; also used specifically of the roof plate which supports the ends of the roof trusses or, in simple work, the feet of the rafters.
 11. Her. A roundel of silver or tinctured argent.
 12. Photog. A sheet of glass, porcelain, metal, etc., with a coating that is sensitive to light.
 13. A prize giving to the winner in a contest.
 14. Baseball A small five-sided area (enveloping a diamond-shaped area one foot square) beside which the batter stands and which must be touched by some part of a player on completing a run; -- called also home base, or home plate.
 15.  One of the thin parts of the bricket of an animal.
 16.  A very light steel racing horsehoe.
 17.  Loosely, a sporting contest for a prize; specif., in horse racing, a race for a prize, the contestants not making a stake.
 18.  Skins for fur linings of garments, sewed together and roughly shaped, but not finally cut or fitted. [Furrier's Cant]
 19.  Hat Making The fine nap (as of beaver, hare's wool, musquash, nutria, or English black wool) on a hat the body of which is of an inferior substance.
 Note: ☞ Plate is sometimes used in an adjectival sense or in combination, the phrase or compound being in most cases of obvious signification; as, plate basket or plate-basket, plate rack or plate-rack.
 Home plate. Baseball See Home base, under Home.
 Plate armor. (a) See Plate, n., 2. (b) Strong metal plates for protecting war vessels, fortifications, and the like.
 Plate bone, the shoulder blade, or scapula.
 Plate girder, a girder, the web of which is formed of a single vertical plate, or of a series of such plates riveted together.
 Plate glass. See under Glass.
 Plate iron, wrought iron plates.
 Plate layer, a workman who lays down the rails of a railway and fixes them to the sleepers or ties.
 Plate mark, a special mark or emblematic figure stamped upon gold or silver plate, to indicate the place of manufacture, the degree of purity, and the like; thus, the local mark for London is a lion.
 Plate paper, a heavy spongy paper, for printing from engraved plates. --Fairholt.
 Plate press, a press with a flat carriage and a roller, -- used for printing from engraved steel or copper plates.
 Plate printer, one who prints from engraved plates.
 Plate printing, the act or process of printing from an engraved plate or plates.
 Plate tracery. Arch. See under Tracery.
 Plate wheel Mech., a wheel, the rim and hub of which are connected by a continuous plate of metal, instead of by arms or spokes.
 Home n.
 1. One's own dwelling place; the house in which one lives; esp., the house in which one lives with his family; the habitual abode of one's family; also, one's birthplace.
    The disciples went away again to their own home.   --John xx. 10.
    Home is the sacred refuge of our life.   --Dryden.
 Home! home! sweet, sweet home!
 There's no place like home.   --Payne.
 2. One's native land; the place or country in which one dwells; the place where one's ancestors dwell or dwelt. “Our old home [England].”
 3. The abiding place of the affections, especially of the domestic affections.
 He entered in his house -- his home no more,
 For without hearts there is no home.   --Byron.
 4. The locality where a thing is usually found, or was first found, or where it is naturally abundant; habitat; seat; as, the home of the pine.
    Her eyes are homes of silent prayer.   --Tennyson.
    Flandria, by plenty made the home of war.   --Prior.
 5. A place of refuge and rest; an asylum; as, a home for outcasts; a home for the blind; hence, esp., the grave; the final rest; also, the native and eternal dwelling place of the soul.
    Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets.   --Eccl. xii. 5.
 6. Baseball The home base; as, he started for home.
 At home.(a) At one's own house, or lodgings. (b) In one's own town or country; as, peace abroad and at home. (c) Prepared to receive callers.
 Home department, the department of executive administration, by which the internal affairs of a country are managed. [Eng.] To be at home on any subject, to be conversant or familiar with it.
 To feel at home, to be at one's ease.
 To make one's self at home, to conduct one's self with as much freedom as if at home.
 Syn: -- Tenement; house; dwelling; abode; domicile.
 Home a.
 1. Of or pertaining to one's dwelling or country; domestic; not foreign; as home manufactures; home comforts.
 2. Close; personal; pointed; as, a home thrust.
 3. Games  In various games, the ultimate point aimed at in a progress; goal; as: (a) Baseball The plate at which the batter stands; same as home base and home plate. (b) Lacrosse The place of a player in front of an opponent's goal; also, the player.
 Home base or Home plate Baseball, the base at which the batter stands when batting, and which is the last base to be reached in scoring a run.
 Home farm, grounds, etc., the farm, grounds, etc., adjacent to the residence of the owner.
 Home lot, an inclosed plot on which the owner's home stands. [U. S.]
 Home rule, rule or government of an appendent or dependent country, as to all local and internal legislation, by means of a governing power vested in the people within the country itself, in contradistinction to a government established by the dominant country; as, home rule in Ireland. Also used adjectively; as, home-rule members of Parliament.
 Home ruler, one who favors or advocates home rule.
 Home stretch Sport., that part of a race course between the last curve and the winning post.
 Home thrust, a well directed or effective thrust; one that wounds in a vital part; hence, in controversy, a personal attack.
 home base
      n 1: (baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter
           stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to
           score; "he ruled that the runner failed to touch home"
           [syn: home plate, home, plate]
      2: (usually plural) the office that serves as the
         administrative center of an enterprise; "many companies
         have their headquarters in New York" [syn: headquarters,
          central office, main office, home office]