pâté

1 of 3

noun (1)

pâ·​té pä-ˈtā How to pronounce pâté (audio)
pa-
variants or less commonly pate
1
: a spread of finely chopped or pureed seasoned meat
chicken liver pâté
2
: a meat or fish pie or patty

pate

2 of 3

noun (2)

1
: head
A hat covered his bald pate.
2
: the crown of the head
combed his hair across his pate
3
usually disparaging : brain
pated adjective

pâte

3 of 3

noun (3)

Examples of pâté in a Sentence

Noun (2) plopped a cap on his bald pate
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Another Vietnamese staple is banh mi, a crusty baguette typically filled with pork or chicken, pate, and pickled carrot and daikon radish. Catherine Garcia, theweek, 11 Nov. 2024 To help with this, Fortune says Boring Tunnel has installed license plate readers that close the gate if an unauthorized vehicle pate is scanned. Lawrence Hodge / Jalopnik, Quartz, 10 Oct. 2024 While trays of chef Sophia Roe’s delicate hors d'oeuvres like English pea tarts, caviar edible spoons and elderflower pate de fruits passed through the crowd, perfumer Christine Nagel toasted the house’s newest fragrance, Barénia. Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2024 Corgan tipped the brim of the Cubs baseball cap that sat atop his gleaming pate. John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024 Apparently, Parisians mistook the uniformed figure with the bald pate for General Dwight Eisenhower. Sam Roberts, Foreign Affairs, 2 June 2015 The bald pate and Mephistophelian goatee evoked Ming the Merciless of the Flash Gordon comics and the menacing devil worshippers from movies — LaVey was reclaiming pop culture’s caricature of a Satanist to fashion his high-priest persona. Alex Bhattacharji, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2024 Served on warm bread with mayo, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno, pickled carrots and daikon, and pate, the little shop has remained a local favorite while also luring in food critics, impressed by its flavors. Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 22 July 2024 Many of the dishes at SAGE feature herbs and other ingredients plucked from plants growing on the patio, too, like the Door County smoke whitefish pate or egg salad sandwich with tarragon and microgreens. Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 11 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French, from Middle French pasté — more at pasty

Noun (2)

Middle English

Noun (3)

French, literally, paste, from Old French paste

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1706, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

1863, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pâté was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near pâté

Cite this Entry

“Pâté.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/p%C3%A2t%C3%A9. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

pate

noun
: head entry 1 sense 1
especially : the top of the head
pated adjective
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!