PALATE

(Lat. palatum.) In Anatomy, the roof of the mouth. That part which is formed by the lower portions of the superior maxillary and palatine hones is called the "hard palate;" that which is due to the extension of membranous and muscular substance unsupported by bone is termed the "soft palate." In Zoology, the modifications of the bony palate, and the "palatal ridges," and other inequalities of the soft parts, are of use in the discrimination of the species of Mammal i a. Palate, in a flower, is the convex base of the lower lip of a personate corolla. [s. 893]