plateaun.¹adj.

Brit.

/ˈplatəʊ/,

/plaˈtəʊ/,

/pləˈtəʊ/, U.S.

/plæˈtoʊ/

Inflections: Plural plateaus, plateaux Brit.

/ˈplatəʊ/,

/plaˈtəʊ/,

/pləˈtəʊ/, U.S.

/plæˈtoʊ/.

Forms: 1700s– plateau, 1800s platteau.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French plateau.

Etymology: Partly < French plateau tract of flat land (1718 in military use, denoting flat land where troops can easily be deployed or placed (compare quots. 1743, 1796, 1807 at sense A. 1; 1796 in general use as a geographical term) < plat plat adj. + -eau : see -el suffix²), and partly < its homonym French plateau flat dish or tray (13th cent. in Old French; earlier as platel (first half of the 13th cent. in Old French); < plat plate, platter, dish (see plate n.) + -el -el suffix²). Sense A. 3 and the figurative uses of sense A. 4 are not paralleled in French until later (20th cent.). N.E.D. (1907) gives only the pronunciation (plătō^u·) /pləˈtəʊ/. In plural form plateaux after the French plural form.

A. n.¹

1. Physical Geography. An elevated tract of comparatively flat or level land; a tableland.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > level land > [noun] > plateau

table1587

tableland1672

terrace1674

plateau1743

plat1788

table plain1812

platform1813

table-ground1823

mesa1840

1743 tr. Relation Siege of Prague 8 The 17th we perceived..that they had already begun to form a Parallel, leaning to the Left on the Plateau [Fr. plateau], and on the Front of the Red-house, the Right descending into the Valley of St. Margaret.

1796 State Papers III. ii. 48* The limits between the states..shall be marked by a line through the most advanced points of the frontier of Piedmont, the summits, plateaux (flat tops of hills), mountains, and other places hereafter described.

1807 State Papers in Ann. Reg. 11 A rising ground or flattish hill, which, in the military phraseology of the French, is called a plateau.

1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 375 On the chalk of Berkshire, extensive plateaus, six or seven miles wide, would again be formed.

1834 T. Pringle Afr. Sketches ix. 293 A sort of plateau or table-land, rising abruptly from the plains..in immense buttresses of naked rock.

1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. iv. 168 The great Central tableland of Asia, culminating in the lofty plateau of Thibet.

1898 F. T. Bullen Cruise ‘Cachalot’ ix. 91 The grassy plateau on which the village stands.

1960 L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct. & Scenery (ed. 5) 211 A rolling plateau..interrupted by numerous deep valleys.

1976 Nature 1 Apr. 414/2 There is sufficient heat in the oceans to energise the transport of large volumes of water over the sub-polar plateaux.

1992 Sky Mag. (Delta Airlines) Dec. 564/1 India has always been a land of extremes—from the cool, lush mountains of the north to baking desert plateaus.

a. An ornamented tray or flat dish.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [noun] > utensils for serving > serving-plate or -tray

trayOE

chargerc1305

service plate1548

venison dish1567

venison plate1567

fruit-trencher1642

salver1661

server1677

voider1677

waiting salver1714

tureen1727

waiter1738

waiting board1770

plateau1790

traylet1825

breakfast-traya1865

cheese board1916

thali1969

charger1984

1790 G. Morris Let. 6 July in G. Washington Papers (1996) Presidential Ser. VI. 20 The Letter..which accompanied the Plateaux &ca was written in a very short and dry Style.

1796 C. Abbot Diary 20 Feb. in Diary & Corr. (1861) I. 34 The middle of the table was filled with a painted plateau ornamented with French white figures and vases of flowers.

1800 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1801) 4 11 An elegant platteau, and a silver epergne.

1831 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal I. 136 The plateau sufficiently large to hold the entire tea equipage of a numerous party.

1937 F. W. Burgess Silver xv. 158 It [sc. an epergne] stands on a silver plateau 30 inches by 19 inches.

2003 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 16 Apr. 5 Greg Arbutine's image is reflected in an antique English mirrored plateau, worth almost $7,000.

†b. A decorative plaque or panel. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > [noun] > plaques

tablet1768

cartouchea1776

plateau1861

plaque1869

plaquette1881

1861 Times 6 June 5/5 The Grocers..have secured a lasting record of their commercial adventures in the shape of a gorgeous silver plateau, comprising four massive pieces, each representing a scene in the progress of a trading caravan through the Desert.

3. A type of hat crown with a level top; a style of woman's hat having such a crown.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > other

cap (also hat) of maintenancec1475

hat1483

wishing-hat1600

cockle hat1603

porringer1623

poke1632

custard-cap1649

bonnet1675

muff-box1678

Caroline1687

Quaker1778

meat safe1782

balloon hat1784

gypsy hat1785

cabriolet1797

gypsy bonnet1803

Gypsy1806

Wellington hat1809

fan-tail-hat1810

umbrella hat1817

radical1828

caubeen1831

topi1835

montera1838

Petersham1845

squash hat1860

Moab1864

kiddy1865

flap-hat1866

Dolly Varden1872

brush-hata1877

potae1881

Pope's-hat1886

plateau1890

kelly1915

push-back1920

kiss-me-quick hat1963

pakul1982

tinfoil hat1982

1890 Chicago Tribune 12 Jan. iv. 25/2 The reception and theater bonnets of the hour are either low plateaus of velvet touched here and there with brilliant points of color, or floral pancakes held lightly on beauty's tresses by slender ribbons.

1900 Daily News 21 July 6/5 Merely a burnt-straw plateau with a cluster of flowers under the raised brim at the left side.

1957 Hammond (Indiana) Times 14 July c2/4 The flower girl wore a floor length gown of light blue, and her headpiece was a white straw plateau trimmed in blue velvet ribbon.

1995 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 12 Apr. 11 A Gainsborough plateau from the Hat Shop; an ivory topper from Marks and Spencers..such are just a few of the mad confections.

a. A more or less level portion of a graph or trace, adjacent to a lower sloping portion.Originally applied to a level portion of a sphygmographic tracing of the pulse.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [noun] > pulse wave or plateau

wave1838

tricrotic wave1876

plateau1894

tidal wave1896

the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > specific measuring or recording > [noun] > specific record > level tracing in

plateau1894

society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > diagram > graph > part of

plateau1894

1894 W. Ewart Heart Stud. I. iv. xiii. 277 In the cardiogram..this point occurs in the line of descent—or else in the ‘plateau’.

1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 470 In the systolic plateau two minor undulations of pressure are seen.

1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 934 This feature of the pulse and its long plateau would set aside that extremely rare affection pulmonary stenosis.

1976 Nature 8 July 146/1 Fig. 1b shows a large current with a plateau at around +0·8 V.

2000 Guns Mag. (Nexis) Oct. 80 The graph has a plateau where there is no increase in velocity with an increase in powder charge.

b. In extended use: a state or period of little or no change following a period of activity or progress; spec. (Psychology) a stage in learning when no apparent progress is made.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > [noun]

unchangeabilityc1400

equability1531

unchangeableness1548

constancy1593

immutability1593

immutableness1610

oneness1611

unvariableness1611

irrevocability1613

unalterableness1620

fixedness1626

irreversiblenessa1631

equableness1641

invariability1644

irrevocableness1649

undiminishableness1653

invariableness1654

incommutability1674

intransmutability1692

inalterability1715

inconvertibleness1727

inchangeability1773

unimprovability1814

irreversibility1824

inconvertibilitya1832

unarbitrarinessa1834

changelessness1840

inadaptability1840

unalterability1847

unvaryingness1851

monotone1856

unmodifiableness1876

unchangingness1878

unchangedness1880

irreformability1883

plateau1897

homoeostasis1926

invariance1939

plateauing1957

the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > learning impairment > [noun] > learning stage without progress

plateau1897

1897 Bryan & Harter in Psychol. Rev. 4 52 All agree that just below the ability to understand what is spoken, there is a long discouraging plateau where many give up [learning telegraphy] in despair.

1943 J. D. White in H. L. Mencken Amer. Lang. (1945) Suppl. I. 416 Plateaus are the thing now. War production is on a plateau, meaning that it is way up and has been up long enough to establish a plateau in the curve of production figures.

1959 Listener 1 Jan. 18/1 The Ionians..had already reached a high plateau of civilization.

1979 A. Storr Art of Psychotherapy vi. 51 Men who have reached a plateau in their careers and feel they have nothing to aim for.

1985 Bodypower June 20 Have you reached one of those annoying plateaux in your training when suddenly the poundages are not going up each week?

1999 What Investm. Aug. 127/1 Though the trend of equities is historically quite steeply upward in value, there have been a few plateaux along the way.

c. Physics. The range of applied voltage over which the counting rate of a Geiger counter remains approximately the same, for a given intensity of radiation.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > measurement of ionizing radiation > [noun] > instrument for counting or recording > stable radiation count

plateau1937

1937 Physical Rev. 51 1027/1 Reliable counting characteristics and long plateaus were obtainable only with counters whose cathode surfaces were completely cleaned..previous to filling.

1953 H. H. Staub in E. Segrè Exper. Nucl. Physics I. i. iv. 149 A good counter shows a plateau of 160 volts over which the counting rate should not increase by more than 3 percent.

1973 J. Yarwood Atomic & Nucl. Physics xiv. 396 Well designed counter tubes have a plateau slope of about 2 per cent. increase in count rate for an operating voltage increase of 100 V. This flat plateau is valuable since it means that the operating voltage is not critical.

d. Short for plateau phase n. at Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > orgasm > stage preceding orgasm

plateau phase1960

plateau1974

1974 H. S. Kaplan New Sex Therapy i. 9 During plateau, the local vasocongestive response of the primary sex organ is at its peak in both genders.

1974 H. S. Kaplan New Sex Therapy i. 21 The retarded ejaculator becomes excited, reaches the plateau, may experience the intense urge to proceed to orgasm which is characteristic at this time, but cannot ejaculate despite vigorous and effective stimulation.

1988 Jrnl. Substance Abuse Treatm. 5 171 These effects of alcohol and drugs can be understood and illustrated by examining the phases of excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution in the human sexual response.

B. adj.

Of the nature of or relating to a plateau; spec. (Medicine) (of the pulse) having an abnormally prolonged period of constant blood pressure, esp. due to stenosis.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [adjective] > types of pulsation

slowa1398

stronga1398

throbbinga1450

systematical1658

long1671

natant1707

undose1707

vermiculose1707

exalted1742

salienta1791

inciduous1822

fluttering1834

sharp1843

sluggish1843

tricrotic1876

tricrotous1877

bounding1879

short1898

quadrigeminal1906

plateau1923

1923 W. D. Reid Heart in Mod. Pract. xviii. 231 If the pulse is anacrotic and plateau in type, the diagnosis [of aortic stenosis] obtains strong support.

1936 S. A. Levine Clin. Heart Dis. iv. 77 The plateau form of radial pulse is fairly characteristic of aortic stenosis.

1936 S. A. Levine Clin. Heart Dis. iv. 77 This will counteract the plateau character.

1972 R. Passmore & J. S. Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. xvi. 6/1 The plateau pulse..is due to the slow ejection of blood from the left ventricle through the narrowed orifice.

2004 Rubber World (Nexis) 1 Feb. 24 AEM [= ethylene acrylic elastomer] causes an initial rise in the sealing force at the beginning, then a general decline to a plateau behavior.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

plateau air n.

ΚΠ

1900 J. Huthinson in Arch. Surg. 11 237 In conformity with the general creed, sea air is bad for rheumatism rather than that plateau air is good.

1931 J. H. Hofmeyr South Afr. (1932) ii. 11 The dryness of the plateau air, and its height above the sea temper the heat of summer.

1997 A. Brakel tr. C. de Abreu Chapters Brazil's Colonial Hist. i. 9 The plateau air is easily heated during the day owing to its thinness, and it cools off quickly at night for the same reason.

plateau hat n.

ΚΠ

1893 Newark (Ohio) Sunday Advocate 26 Nov. 3/1 Green, black and wine colored velvet plateau hats for the theater are trimmed with costly cream laces.

1914 Times 2 Mar. 8/7 This smart little ‘plateau’ hat of lisière straw shows another variation of the new raised black bandeau.

1989 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 28 May i. 42/5 I did a huge plateau hat covered with 50's organza roses in clashing shades of orange, red and pink.

plateau ice n.

ΚΠ

1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxv. 336 The surface of the plateau-ice, the mer-de-glace of the island.

1912 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 44 907 The near mass of plateau-ice is in King Edward Land due eastward.

1998 Jrnl. Quaternary Sci. 13 35 In some cases, recession of plateau ice has revealed areas that have experienced little or no subglacial erosion.

plateau-land n.

ΚΠ

1859 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 3 305 The rain-fall of several months would at last so supersaturate the interior plateau-lands and lakes as to produce periodical annual discharges.

1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 638 The great park-like plateau lands.

1994 New Phytologist 126 370/1 Topographically this part of East Sussex consists of a series of west-east-trending valleys separated by ridges which rise up to 100 m OD and coalesce to form substantial plateaulands.

plateau length n.

ΚΠ

1965 Wireless World Aug. 382/2 This is particularly useful for Geiger tubes, as they tend to have individual working points and sometimes, if aged, a limited plateau length.

2001 Polymer Engin. & Sci. (Nexis) 41 1540 The modulus increases and the plateau length decreases with increasing styrene content.

plateau level n.

ΚΠ

1877 Rep. Geol. Explor. 40th Parallel (U.S.) II. 413 In the region of Blacksmith's Fork, the beds lie horizontally in isolated hills, rising several hundred feet above the plateau level.

1977 Ann. Internal Med. 86 588/2 Orgasmic phase dysfunction is the inability to experience orgasm when plateau levels of arousal can be sustained.

1999 Oral Microbiol. & Immunol. 14 220 The fluorescence dropped quickly to a minimum level and increased to a plateau level.

plateau region n.

ΚΠ

a1853 C. Pelton Key to Pelton's New Ser. Outl. Maps (1856) 11 Part of the plateau region of central Asia, not included in the preceding table, is more extensive.

1952 W. J. Miller Introd. Hist. Geol. (ed. 6) xxiii. 398 Mention should be made of the fine exhibition of the Tertiary laccolithic intrusions in the plateau region of southeastern Utah.

1991 Antiquity 65 842/1 The Marghine plateau region, covering some 40 sq. km of basaltic uplands in west central Sardinia, encompasses the Abbassanta Plain, [etc.].

plateau slope n.

ΚΠ

1861 Mil. Road Fort Benton to Fort Walla-Walla (U.S. Army Corps Topogr. Engineers) 80 Following the foot line of the plateau slope, through open timber in a southwesterly direction for a mile and a quarter, we struck a sandy ravine.

1962 Newnes Conc. Encycl. Nucl. Energy 296/1 A good counter is one which has a low plateau slope, e.g. less than 5 per cent increase in count-rate for 100 V increase in applied voltage.

1995 Press Enterprise (Riverside, Ca.) (Nexis) 5 Jan. b1 Buster wants to preserve the plateau slopes overlooking Murrieta, Temecula and Wildomar by holding development to one house per every five acres.

plateau state n.

ΚΠ

1897 Athens (Ohio) Messenger & Herald 27 May 3/3 Name the plateau states and give other leading industries, products and cities.

1961 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 5 July 10/5 Showers sprinkled sections from the Plateau states to the northern Virginias today.

1984 Engin. News-Record (Nexis) 21 June 91 Equipment cost gains averaged 2.3% in the North Central region, 2.1% in the plateau states, 2% in the Pacific states and 1.8% in the South Central region.

plateau valley n.

ΚΠ

1866 Rep. Explor. & Surv. Railroad Mississippi River to Pacific Ocean (U.S. War Dept.) 214 By running into the river and out from it, these river ranges form plateau valleys, varying from a simple gorge to one or two miles in width.

1968 Geogr. Abstr. A. 30 The scarp..was formed during the Quaternary when the region underwent severe periglaciation with immense frost riving and modification of plateau valleys.

1994 D. R. Lewis Neither Wolf nor Dog ii. 26 Seed grasses, root plants, and sagebrush grow in the plateau valleys.

plateau value n.

ΚΠ

1954 I. M. Lerner Genetic Homeostasis ii. iii. 9 The response obtained in the selected line after many generations at a plateau value.

1964 L. Wilets Theories Nucl. Fission i. 3 As a function of excitation energy, the probability of fission frequently assumes the form of a barrier transmission curve.., rising to some plateau value.

1993 Gut 34 1262 There is a linear increase in the labelling of secreted enzymes curving off to a plateau value after four hours.

C2.

plateau basalt n. Geology basaltic lava extruded from fissures and forming sheets that cover a large area.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > volcanic rocks > lava > others

amphigenite1868

plateau basalt1888

1888 Proc. Royal Soc. Edinb. 15 347 In Antrim bosses of trachyte and pitchstone rise through the plateau-basalts.

1944 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. xx. 458 Plateau basalts covering areas of 200,000 square miles or more occur in the Columbia and Snake River region of the north-western United States.

1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 20/3 The materials of cratered plains [on the moon] resemble terrestrial plateau basalts.

1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 704 The chamber may have been subvolcanic and have acted as a feeder for, for example, plateau basalt lava flows.

plateau gravel n. Geology gravel occurring in a sheet on hilltops or a plateau, at a height that suggests it has been raised by earth movement since its deposition.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > stony material > [noun] > gravel or shingle > gravel > type of

flood gravelc1420

river gravel1600

blue metal1699

slither1811

flint-gravel1865

plateau gravel1872

duck-gravel1885

peastone1909

pea gravel1911

1872 Wood & Harmer in S. V. Wood Suppl. Monogr. Crag Mollusca p. xxvi. (heading) The Plateau gravel.

1881 Proc. Geologists' Assoc. 1879–81 6 33 On the top of Crawley (Portesbury) Hill..the plateau-gravel, with its overlying loam (loess) and its ferruginous layers, is well seen in the railway-cutting.

1970 R. J. Small Study of Landforms vii. 234 In the New Forest.., the Tertiary sands and clays are overlain at many points by thick plateau gravels of Quaternary age.

plateau green n. Golf a putting green consisting of a level area on top of a bank or mound.

ΚΠ

1909 Times 20 July 18/5 A sloping bank rises up to a plateau green; on the crest of the slope there are pot-bunkers to right and left.

1961 E. Brown Knave of Clubs 15 I hit a weak tee-shot and the ball ran down from the plateau green almost halfway back to the tee.

2004 Australian (Nexis) 15 July 40 Into the wind you might even see some players trying to choke down on a driver to a plateau green that slopes away on both sides.

plateau phase n. the second of four stages of human sexual response identified by William Masters (see quot. 1960), in which there is a period of intense sexual excitement lasting a variable but usually short time following a longer phase of increasing excitement and succeeded either by orgasm or by a longer period of decreasing excitement.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > orgasm > stage preceding orgasm

plateau phase1960

plateau1974

1960 W. H. Masters in Western Jrnl. Surg., Obstetr. & Gynecol. 68 58 The four phases of the human female's sexual response cycle are in order of their development: (1) the excitement phase; (2) the plateau phase; (3) the orgasmic phase; and (4) the resolution phase.

1976 B. Goldstein Human Sexuality ix. 157 If sexual motivation is maintained by adequate erotic stimulation, the excitement phase accelerates to the plateau phase.

1986 R. Goldenson & K. Anderson Sex A–Z (1987) 192/1 In women, the plateau phase is more complex and includes retraction of the clitoris as a protective measure... The phase may last 30 seconds to 3 minutes.

Derivatives

ˈplateau-like adj.

ΚΠ

1859 Times 6 July 10/2 This road is flanked on the left by a high isolated plateau, while on the right it is commanded by the long plateau-like spur which runs from the tower in the direction of Castiglione.

1863 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Greece & Greeks I. i. 7 The Acropolis..is a rock, which, plateau-like, rises directly from the plain.

1912 R. A. Daly et al. Rep. Comm. Turtle Mountain 19 Turtle mountain is a sharp ridge, and, therefore, more readily shaken as a whole than if it were dome-shaped or plateau-like.

1992 S. P. Maran Astron. & Astrophysics Encycl. 947/1 A unique terrain type..consists of elevated plateau-like areas with spatial extents of several thousands of kilometers.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	plateau
释义	plateaun.¹adj. Brit. /ˈplatəʊ/, /plaˈtəʊ/, /pləˈtəʊ/, U.S. /plæˈtoʊ/ Inflections: Plural plateaus, plateaux Brit. /ˈplatəʊ/, /plaˈtəʊ/, /pləˈtəʊ/, U.S. /plæˈtoʊ/. Forms: 1700s– plateau, 1800s platteau. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French plateau. Etymology: Partly < French plateau tract of flat land (1718 in military use, denoting flat land where troops can easily be deployed or placed (compare quots. 1743, 1796, 1807 at sense A. 1; 1796 in general use as a geographical term) < plat plat adj. + -eau : see -el suffix²), and partly < its homonym French plateau flat dish or tray (13th cent. in Old French; earlier as platel (first half of the 13th cent. in Old French); < plat plate, platter, dish (see plate n.) + -el -el suffix²). Sense A. 3 and the figurative uses of sense A. 4 are not paralleled in French until later (20th cent.). N.E.D. (1907) gives only the pronunciation (plătō^u·) /pləˈtəʊ/. In plural form plateaux after the French plural form. A. n.¹ 1. Physical Geography. An elevated tract of comparatively flat or level land; a tableland. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > level land > [noun] > plateau table1587 tableland1672 terrace1674 plateau1743 plat1788 table plain1812 platform1813 table-ground1823 mesa1840 1743 tr. Relation Siege of Prague 8 The 17th we perceived..that they had already begun to form a Parallel, leaning to the Left on the Plateau [Fr. plateau], and on the Front of the Red-house, the Right descending into the Valley of St. Margaret. 1796 State Papers III. ii. 48* The limits between the states..shall be marked by a line through the most advanced points of the frontier of Piedmont, the summits, plateaux (flat tops of hills), mountains, and other places hereafter described. 1807 State Papers in Ann. Reg. 11 A rising ground or flattish hill, which, in the military phraseology of the French, is called a plateau. 1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 375 On the chalk of Berkshire, extensive plateaus, six or seven miles wide, would again be formed. 1834 T. Pringle Afr. Sketches ix. 293 A sort of plateau or table-land, rising abruptly from the plains..in immense buttresses of naked rock. 1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. iv. 168 The great Central tableland of Asia, culminating in the lofty plateau of Thibet. 1898 F. T. Bullen Cruise ‘Cachalot’ ix. 91 The grassy plateau on which the village stands. 1960 L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct. & Scenery (ed. 5) 211 A rolling plateau..interrupted by numerous deep valleys. 1976 Nature 1 Apr. 414/2 There is sufficient heat in the oceans to energise the transport of large volumes of water over the sub-polar plateaux. 1992 Sky Mag. (Delta Airlines) Dec. 564/1 India has always been a land of extremes—from the cool, lush mountains of the north to baking desert plateaus. 2. a. An ornamented tray or flat dish. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [noun] > utensils for serving > serving-plate or -tray trayOE chargerc1305 service plate1548 venison dish1567 venison plate1567 fruit-trencher1642 salver1661 server1677 voider1677 waiting salver1714 tureen1727 waiter1738 waiting board1770 plateau1790 traylet1825 breakfast-traya1865 cheese board1916 thali1969 charger1984 1790 G. Morris Let. 6 July in G. Washington Papers (1996) Presidential Ser. VI. 20 The Letter..which accompanied the Plateaux &ca was written in a very short and dry Style. 1796 C. Abbot Diary 20 Feb. in Diary & Corr. (1861) I. 34 The middle of the table was filled with a painted plateau ornamented with French white figures and vases of flowers. 1800 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1801) 4 11 An elegant platteau, and a silver epergne. 1831 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal I. 136 The plateau sufficiently large to hold the entire tea equipage of a numerous party. 1937 F. W. Burgess Silver xv. 158 It [sc. an epergne] stands on a silver plateau 30 inches by 19 inches. 2003 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 16 Apr. 5 Greg Arbutine's image is reflected in an antique English mirrored plateau, worth almost $7,000. †b. A decorative plaque or panel. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > [noun] > plaques tablet1768 cartouchea1776 plateau1861 plaque1869 plaquette1881 1861 Times 6 June 5/5 The Grocers..have secured a lasting record of their commercial adventures in the shape of a gorgeous silver plateau, comprising four massive pieces, each representing a scene in the progress of a trading caravan through the Desert. 3. A type of hat crown with a level top; a style of woman's hat having such a crown. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > other cap (also hat) of maintenancec1475 hat1483 wishing-hat1600 cockle hat1603 porringer1623 poke1632 custard-cap1649 bonnet1675 muff-box1678 Caroline1687 Quaker1778 meat safe1782 balloon hat1784 gypsy hat1785 cabriolet1797 gypsy bonnet1803 Gypsy1806 Wellington hat1809 fan-tail-hat1810 umbrella hat1817 radical1828 caubeen1831 topi1835 montera1838 Petersham1845 squash hat1860 Moab1864 kiddy1865 flap-hat1866 Dolly Varden1872 brush-hata1877 potae1881 Pope's-hat1886 plateau1890 kelly1915 push-back1920 kiss-me-quick hat1963 pakul1982 tinfoil hat1982 1890 Chicago Tribune 12 Jan. iv. 25/2 The reception and theater bonnets of the hour are either low plateaus of velvet touched here and there with brilliant points of color, or floral pancakes held lightly on beauty's tresses by slender ribbons. 1900 Daily News 21 July 6/5 Merely a burnt-straw plateau with a cluster of flowers under the raised brim at the left side. 1957 Hammond (Indiana) Times 14 July c2/4 The flower girl wore a floor length gown of light blue, and her headpiece was a white straw plateau trimmed in blue velvet ribbon. 1995 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 12 Apr. 11 A Gainsborough plateau from the Hat Shop; an ivory topper from Marks and Spencers..such are just a few of the mad confections. 4. a. A more or less level portion of a graph or trace, adjacent to a lower sloping portion.Originally applied to a level portion of a sphygmographic tracing of the pulse. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [noun] > pulse wave or plateau wave1838 tricrotic wave1876 plateau1894 tidal wave1896 the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > specific measuring or recording > [noun] > specific record > level tracing in plateau1894 society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > diagram > graph > part of plateau1894 1894 W. Ewart Heart Stud. I. iv. xiii. 277 In the cardiogram..this point occurs in the line of descent—or else in the ‘plateau’. 1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 470 In the systolic plateau two minor undulations of pressure are seen. 1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 934 This feature of the pulse and its long plateau would set aside that extremely rare affection pulmonary stenosis. 1976 Nature 8 July 146/1 Fig. 1b shows a large current with a plateau at around +0·8 V. 2000 Guns Mag. (Nexis) Oct. 80 The graph has a plateau where there is no increase in velocity with an increase in powder charge. b. In extended use: a state or period of little or no change following a period of activity or progress; spec. (Psychology) a stage in learning when no apparent progress is made. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > [noun] unchangeabilityc1400 equability1531 unchangeableness1548 constancy1593 immutability1593 immutableness1610 oneness1611 unvariableness1611 irrevocability1613 unalterableness1620 fixedness1626 irreversiblenessa1631 equableness1641 invariability1644 irrevocableness1649 undiminishableness1653 invariableness1654 incommutability1674 intransmutability1692 inalterability1715 inconvertibleness1727 inchangeability1773 unimprovability1814 irreversibility1824 inconvertibilitya1832 unarbitrarinessa1834 changelessness1840 inadaptability1840 unalterability1847 unvaryingness1851 monotone1856 unmodifiableness1876 unchangingness1878 unchangedness1880 irreformability1883 plateau1897 homoeostasis1926 invariance1939 plateauing1957 the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > learning impairment > [noun] > learning stage without progress plateau1897 1897 Bryan & Harter in Psychol. Rev. 4 52 All agree that just below the ability to understand what is spoken, there is a long discouraging plateau where many give up [learning telegraphy] in despair. 1943 J. D. White in H. L. Mencken Amer. Lang. (1945) Suppl. I. 416 Plateaus are the thing now. War production is on a plateau, meaning that it is way up and has been up long enough to establish a plateau in the curve of production figures. 1959 Listener 1 Jan. 18/1 The Ionians..had already reached a high plateau of civilization. 1979 A. Storr Art of Psychotherapy vi. 51 Men who have reached a plateau in their careers and feel they have nothing to aim for. 1985 Bodypower June 20 Have you reached one of those annoying plateaux in your training when suddenly the poundages are not going up each week? 1999 What Investm. Aug. 127/1 Though the trend of equities is historically quite steeply upward in value, there have been a few plateaux along the way. c. Physics. The range of applied voltage over which the counting rate of a Geiger counter remains approximately the same, for a given intensity of radiation. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > measurement of ionizing radiation > [noun] > instrument for counting or recording > stable radiation count plateau1937 1937 Physical Rev. 51 1027/1 Reliable counting characteristics and long plateaus were obtainable only with counters whose cathode surfaces were completely cleaned..previous to filling. 1953 H. H. Staub in E. Segrè Exper. Nucl. Physics I. i. iv. 149 A good counter shows a plateau of 160 volts over which the counting rate should not increase by more than 3 percent. 1973 J. Yarwood Atomic & Nucl. Physics xiv. 396 Well designed counter tubes have a plateau slope of about 2 per cent. increase in count rate for an operating voltage increase of 100 V. This flat plateau is valuable since it means that the operating voltage is not critical. d. Short for plateau phase n. at Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > orgasm > stage preceding orgasm plateau phase1960 plateau1974 1974 H. S. Kaplan New Sex Therapy i. 9 During plateau, the local vasocongestive response of the primary sex organ is at its peak in both genders. 1974 H. S. Kaplan New Sex Therapy i. 21 The retarded ejaculator becomes excited, reaches the plateau, may experience the intense urge to proceed to orgasm which is characteristic at this time, but cannot ejaculate despite vigorous and effective stimulation. 1988 Jrnl. Substance Abuse Treatm. 5 171 These effects of alcohol and drugs can be understood and illustrated by examining the phases of excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution in the human sexual response. B. adj. Of the nature of or relating to a plateau; spec. (Medicine) (of the pulse) having an abnormally prolonged period of constant blood pressure, esp. due to stenosis. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [adjective] > types of pulsation slowa1398 stronga1398 throbbinga1450 systematical1658 long1671 natant1707 undose1707 vermiculose1707 exalted1742 salienta1791 inciduous1822 fluttering1834 sharp1843 sluggish1843 tricrotic1876 tricrotous1877 bounding1879 short1898 quadrigeminal1906 plateau1923 1923 W. D. Reid Heart in Mod. Pract. xviii. 231 If the pulse is anacrotic and plateau in type, the diagnosis [of aortic stenosis] obtains strong support. 1936 S. A. Levine Clin. Heart Dis. iv. 77 The plateau form of radial pulse is fairly characteristic of aortic stenosis. 1936 S. A. Levine Clin. Heart Dis. iv. 77 This will counteract the plateau character. 1972 R. Passmore & J. S. Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. xvi. 6/1 The plateau pulse..is due to the slow ejection of blood from the left ventricle through the narrowed orifice. 2004 Rubber World (Nexis) 1 Feb. 24 AEM [= ethylene acrylic elastomer] causes an initial rise in the sealing force at the beginning, then a general decline to a plateau behavior. Compounds C1. General attributive. plateau air n. ΚΠ 1900 J. Huthinson in Arch. Surg. 11 237 In conformity with the general creed, sea air is bad for rheumatism rather than that plateau air is good. 1931 J. H. Hofmeyr South Afr. (1932) ii. 11 The dryness of the plateau air, and its height above the sea temper the heat of summer. 1997 A. Brakel tr. C. de Abreu Chapters Brazil's Colonial Hist. i. 9 The plateau air is easily heated during the day owing to its thinness, and it cools off quickly at night for the same reason. plateau hat n. ΚΠ 1893 Newark (Ohio) Sunday Advocate 26 Nov. 3/1 Green, black and wine colored velvet plateau hats for the theater are trimmed with costly cream laces. 1914 Times 2 Mar. 8/7 This smart little ‘plateau’ hat of lisière straw shows another variation of the new raised black bandeau. 1989 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 28 May i. 42/5 I did a huge plateau hat covered with 50's organza roses in clashing shades of orange, red and pink. plateau ice n. ΚΠ 1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxv. 336 The surface of the plateau-ice, the mer-de-glace of the island. 1912 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 44 907 The near mass of plateau-ice is in King Edward Land due eastward. 1998 Jrnl. Quaternary Sci. 13 35 In some cases, recession of plateau ice has revealed areas that have experienced little or no subglacial erosion. plateau-land n. ΚΠ 1859 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 3 305 The rain-fall of several months would at last so supersaturate the interior plateau-lands and lakes as to produce periodical annual discharges. 1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 638 The great park-like plateau lands. 1994 New Phytologist 126 370/1 Topographically this part of East Sussex consists of a series of west-east-trending valleys separated by ridges which rise up to 100 m OD and coalesce to form substantial plateaulands. plateau length n. ΚΠ 1965 Wireless World Aug. 382/2 This is particularly useful for Geiger tubes, as they tend to have individual working points and sometimes, if aged, a limited plateau length. 2001 Polymer Engin. & Sci. (Nexis) 41 1540 The modulus increases and the plateau length decreases with increasing styrene content. plateau level n. ΚΠ 1877 Rep. Geol. Explor. 40th Parallel (U.S.) II. 413 In the region of Blacksmith's Fork, the beds lie horizontally in isolated hills, rising several hundred feet above the plateau level. 1977 Ann. Internal Med. 86 588/2 Orgasmic phase dysfunction is the inability to experience orgasm when plateau levels of arousal can be sustained. 1999 Oral Microbiol. & Immunol. 14 220 The fluorescence dropped quickly to a minimum level and increased to a plateau level. plateau region n. ΚΠ a1853 C. Pelton Key to Pelton's New Ser. Outl. Maps (1856) 11 Part of the plateau region of central Asia, not included in the preceding table, is more extensive. 1952 W. J. Miller Introd. Hist. Geol. (ed. 6) xxiii. 398 Mention should be made of the fine exhibition of the Tertiary laccolithic intrusions in the plateau region of southeastern Utah. 1991 Antiquity 65 842/1 The Marghine plateau region, covering some 40 sq. km of basaltic uplands in west central Sardinia, encompasses the Abbassanta Plain, [etc.]. plateau slope n. ΚΠ 1861 Mil. Road Fort Benton to Fort Walla-Walla (U.S. Army Corps Topogr. Engineers) 80 Following the foot line of the plateau slope, through open timber in a southwesterly direction for a mile and a quarter, we struck a sandy ravine. 1962 Newnes Conc. Encycl. Nucl. Energy 296/1 A good counter is one which has a low plateau slope, e.g. less than 5 per cent increase in count-rate for 100 V increase in applied voltage. 1995 Press Enterprise (Riverside, Ca.) (Nexis) 5 Jan. b1 Buster wants to preserve the plateau slopes overlooking Murrieta, Temecula and Wildomar by holding development to one house per every five acres. plateau state n. ΚΠ 1897 Athens (Ohio) Messenger & Herald 27 May 3/3 Name the plateau states and give other leading industries, products and cities. 1961 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 5 July 10/5 Showers sprinkled sections from the Plateau states to the northern Virginias today. 1984 Engin. News-Record (Nexis) 21 June 91 Equipment cost gains averaged 2.3% in the North Central region, 2.1% in the plateau states, 2% in the Pacific states and 1.8% in the South Central region. plateau valley n. ΚΠ 1866 Rep. Explor. & Surv. Railroad Mississippi River to Pacific Ocean (U.S. War Dept.) 214 By running into the river and out from it, these river ranges form plateau valleys, varying from a simple gorge to one or two miles in width. 1968 Geogr. Abstr. A. 30 The scarp..was formed during the Quaternary when the region underwent severe periglaciation with immense frost riving and modification of plateau valleys. 1994 D. R. Lewis Neither Wolf nor Dog ii. 26 Seed grasses, root plants, and sagebrush grow in the plateau valleys. plateau value n. ΚΠ 1954 I. M. Lerner Genetic Homeostasis ii. iii. 9 The response obtained in the selected line after many generations at a plateau value. 1964 L. Wilets Theories Nucl. Fission i. 3 As a function of excitation energy, the probability of fission frequently assumes the form of a barrier transmission curve.., rising to some plateau value. 1993 Gut 34 1262 There is a linear increase in the labelling of secreted enzymes curving off to a plateau value after four hours. C2. plateau basalt n. Geology basaltic lava extruded from fissures and forming sheets that cover a large area. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > volcanic rocks > lava > others amphigenite1868 plateau basalt1888 1888 Proc. Royal Soc. Edinb. 15 347 In Antrim bosses of trachyte and pitchstone rise through the plateau-basalts. 1944 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. xx. 458 Plateau basalts covering areas of 200,000 square miles or more occur in the Columbia and Snake River region of the north-western United States. 1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 20/3 The materials of cratered plains [on the moon] resemble terrestrial plateau basalts. 1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 704 The chamber may have been subvolcanic and have acted as a feeder for, for example, plateau basalt lava flows. plateau gravel n. Geology gravel occurring in a sheet on hilltops or a plateau, at a height that suggests it has been raised by earth movement since its deposition. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > stony material > [noun] > gravel or shingle > gravel > type of flood gravelc1420 river gravel1600 blue metal1699 slither1811 flint-gravel1865 plateau gravel1872 duck-gravel1885 peastone1909 pea gravel1911 1872 Wood & Harmer in S. V. Wood Suppl. Monogr. Crag Mollusca p. xxvi. (heading) The Plateau gravel. 1881 Proc. Geologists' Assoc. 1879–81 6 33 On the top of Crawley (Portesbury) Hill..the plateau-gravel, with its overlying loam (loess) and its ferruginous layers, is well seen in the railway-cutting. 1970 R. J. Small Study of Landforms vii. 234 In the New Forest.., the Tertiary sands and clays are overlain at many points by thick plateau gravels of Quaternary age. plateau green n. Golf a putting green consisting of a level area on top of a bank or mound. ΚΠ 1909 Times 20 July 18/5 A sloping bank rises up to a plateau green; on the crest of the slope there are pot-bunkers to right and left. 1961 E. Brown Knave of Clubs 15 I hit a weak tee-shot and the ball ran down from the plateau green almost halfway back to the tee. 2004 Australian (Nexis) 15 July 40 Into the wind you might even see some players trying to choke down on a driver to a plateau green that slopes away on both sides. plateau phase n. the second of four stages of human sexual response identified by William Masters (see quot. 1960), in which there is a period of intense sexual excitement lasting a variable but usually short time following a longer phase of increasing excitement and succeeded either by orgasm or by a longer period of decreasing excitement. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > orgasm > stage preceding orgasm plateau phase1960 plateau1974 1960 W. H. Masters in Western Jrnl. Surg., Obstetr. & Gynecol. 68 58 The four phases of the human female's sexual response cycle are in order of their development: (1) the excitement phase; (2) the plateau phase; (3) the orgasmic phase; and (4) the resolution phase. 1976 B. Goldstein Human Sexuality ix. 157 If sexual motivation is maintained by adequate erotic stimulation, the excitement phase accelerates to the plateau phase. 1986 R. Goldenson & K. Anderson Sex A–Z (1987) 192/1 In women, the plateau phase is more complex and includes retraction of the clitoris as a protective measure... The phase may last 30 seconds to 3 minutes. Derivatives ˈplateau-like adj. ΚΠ 1859 Times 6 July 10/2 This road is flanked on the left by a high isolated plateau, while on the right it is commanded by the long plateau-like spur which runs from the tower in the direction of Castiglione. 1863 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Greece & Greeks I. i. 7 The Acropolis..is a rock, which, plateau-like, rises directly from the plain. 1912 R. A. Daly et al. Rep. Comm. Turtle Mountain 19 Turtle mountain is a sharp ridge, and, therefore, more readily shaken as a whole than if it were dome-shaped or plateau-like. 1992 S. P. Maran Astron. & Astrophysics Encycl. 947/1 A unique terrain type..consists of elevated plateau-like areas with spatial extents of several thousands of kilometers. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). Plateaun.² Brit. /ˈplatəʊ/, /plaˈtəʊ/, /pləˈtəʊ/, U.S. /plæˈtoʊ/ Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Plateau. Etymology: < the name of J. A. F. Plateau (1801–83), Belgian physicist, who investigated the problem in his work Statique expérimentale et théorique des liquides soumis aux seules forces moléculaires(1873), the source referred to in quot. 1907. Mathematics. attributive, in the genitive, and with of. Designating or relating to the problem of finding the surface of smallest area bounded by any given closed curve, investigated physically by Plateau in a series of experiments with soap films. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > geometry > curve > [noun] > problem or process relating to Simpson1847 reciprocation1852 cyclotomy1879 Plateau1911 versine1943 1907 Ann. Math. 8 185 The theory of minimum surfaces may be beautifully illustrated by experiments with liquid films. An extended discussion of such experiments is to be found in Plateau's treatise.] 1911 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 123/2 The problem of finding a minimal surface to pass through a given curve in space, known as Plateau's problem, possesses an exceptional interest. 1927 Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 33 259 This paper reduces the Plateau problem to a system of two integral equations. 1930 Math. Zeitschr. 32 765 The problem of Plateau and the problem of least area have a common solution. 1976 Sci. Amer. July 82/3 In his honour an entire range of mathematical questions that deal with the geometry of soap-bubble-like and soap-film-like surfaces is referred to as Plateau's problem. 1994 Nature 13 Jan. 123/3 If we wet the foam by the addition of more liquid, the junctions between films are thickened to form what are called Plateau borders. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). plateauv. Brit. /ˈplatəʊ/, /plaˈtəʊ/, /pləˈtəʊ/, U.S. /plæˈtoʊ/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: plateau n.¹ Etymology: < plateau n.¹ Compare earlier plateaued adj. and slightly later plateauing n. intransitive. To reach a state of little or no change after a period of activity or progress; to cease to advance or grow; to level out. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > be unchanging [verb (intransitive)] > cease to change peak1940 plateau1951 to level off (or out)1958 1951 Yale Jrnl. Biol. & Med. 24 131 The daily food intake..‘plateaus’ at this level. 1966 Electronics 3 Oct. 23 U.S. electronic companies have bitten deeply into local markets, causing the sales of European firms to plateau or slide on their home grounds. 1973 Maclean's Aug. 63/1 Kids get into swimming and they have a lot of initial success and then they plateau—they stick at the same level for a long period, maybe six months. 1986 S. S. Nagel Law, Policy & Optimizing Anal. i. i. 13 The non-linear regression analysis..is used to recognize that anti-crime expenditures may reduce crime but that the reduction plateaus out. 2004 N.Z. Herald 28 July (Employment section) Sometimes people make a strategic step sideways, when their career seems to be plateauing at the place they are at. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹adj.1743n.²1911v.1951
随便看	to have the lift to have the look of to have the lower hand to have the luck of the irish to have the making of to have the makings of to have the mantle and the ring to have the markings of to have the mends in one's own hands to have the merit etc to have the merit of to have the merit that to have the merits to have the mockers on to have the monk on to have the monkey on one's back to have the moves to have the mucky end of the stick to have the munchies to have the neck to have the neck to to have the nerve to to have the odds of to have the opposition to have the overhand

plateaun.1adj.

Compounds

Derivatives

Plateaun.2

plateauv.

plateaun.¹adj.

Plateaun.²