fishplate

[ fish-pleyt ]

noun

1. a metal or wooden plate or slab, bolted to each of two members that have been butted or lapped together.
2. Railroads Now Rare. a joint bar.

fishplate

/ ˈfɪʃˌpleɪt /

noun

1. a flat piece of metal joining one rail, stanchion, or beam to another

Word History and Origins

Origin of fishplate¹

1850–55; fish, alteration of French fiche fastening, derivative of ficher to fasten, fix ( fichu ) + plate ¹

Example Sentences

The fishplate instead of the frog, and the steel rail in place of the good old snakehead!

From Project Gutenberg