platy

¹

[ pley-tee ]

adjective

, plat·i·er, plat·i·est.

1. (of an igneous rock) split into thin, flat sheets, often resembling strata, as a result of uneven cooling.

platy

²

[ plat-ee ]

noun

, plural (especially collectively) plat·y, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) plat·ys, plat·ies.

1. platyfish.

platy-

³

1. a combining form meaning “flat,” “broad,” used in the formation of compound words:

   platyhelminth.

platy-

¹

combining_form

1. indicating something flat

   platyhelminth

platy

²

/ ˈpleɪtɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating rocks the constituents of which occur in flaky layers

   platy fracture

platy

³

/ ˈplætɪ /

noun

1. any of various small brightly coloured freshwater cyprinodont fishes of the Central American genus Xiphophorus, esp X. maculatus

Word History and Origins

Origin of platy¹

First recorded in 1525–35; plate ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of platy²

1930–35; by shortening of New Latin Platypoecilus genus name, equivalent to platy- platy- + -poecilus < Greek poikílos mottled

Origin of platy³

Combining form representing Greek platýs; flat ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of platy¹

from Greek platus flat

Origin of platy²

C19: from plate + -y ¹

Origin of platy³

C20: shortened from New Latin Platypoecilus former genus name, from platy- + -poecilus, from Greek poikilos spotted

Example Sentences

The team found indirect evidence of cytoskeletons, as well as platy structures that suggest the presence of internal vesicles in which the plates were formed -- perhaps ancestral to Golgi bodies, present in modern eukaryotic cells.

From Science Daily

The Blue Jays are scheduled to start July 24 at Tampa Bay and platy their home opener five days later against Washington.

From Seattle Times

Many of the minerals of these rocks are “schillerized,” as they contain minute platy or rod-shaped enclosures, disposed parallel to certain crystallographic planes or axes.

From Project Gutenberg

The development of the schistose or gneissic structure is accompanied by the recrystallization of the rock materials, producing new minerals of a platy or columnar type adapted to this parallel arrangement.

From Project Gutenberg

Brucite is usually found as platy masses, sometimes of considerable size, which have a perfect cleavage parallel to the surface of the plates.

From Project Gutenberg