Anatomy
palate Audio
pal·ate [ pal-it ]
Subclass of:
Oral cavity; Jaw
Etymology:
Latin palatum = palate
Prior to the time of Vesalius the roof of the mouth was called the diaphragm of the mouth (diaphragma oris).
Definitions related to palate:
  • Structure that forms the roof of the mouth, consisting of the anterior hard palate and the posterior soft palate.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • The roof of the mouth. The front portion is bony (hard palate), and the back portion is muscular (soft palate).
    NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • The roof of the oral cavity. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • The structure that forms the roof of the mouth. It consists of the anterior hard palate (PALATE, HARD) and the posterior soft palate (PALATE, SOFT).
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • The tissues that make up the roof of the mouth.
    Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
    Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
  • Palate, in vertebrate anatomy, the roof of the mouth, separating the oral and nasal cavities. It consists of an anterior hard palate of bone and, in mammals, a posterior soft palate that has no skeletal support and terminates in a fleshy, elongated projection called the uvula...
    Encyclopedia Britannica
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025
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