Palate

[pal-it] /ˈpæl ɪt/

noun
1.
Anatomy. the roof of the mouth, consisting of an anterior bony portion (hard palate) and a posterior muscular portion (soft palate) that separate the oral cavity from the nasal cavity.
2.
the sense of taste:
a dinner to delight the palate.
3.
intellectual or aesthetic taste; mental appreciation.
/ˈpælɪt/
noun
1.
the roof of the mouth, separating the oral and nasal cavities See hard palate, soft palate related adjective palatine
2.
the sense of taste: she had no palate for the wine
3.
relish or enjoyment
4.
(botany) (in some two-lipped corollas) the projecting part of the lower lip that closes the opening of the corolla
n.

late 14c., “roof of the mouth,” from Old French palat and directly from Latin palatum “roof of the mouth,” perhaps of Etruscan origin [Klein]. Popularly considered the seat of taste, hence transferred meaning “sense of taste” (late 14c.), which also was in classical Latin. Related: Palatal; palatalize.

palate pal·ate (pāl’ĭt)
n.
The bony and muscular partition between the oral and nasal cavities; the roof of the mouth.
palate
(pāl’ĭt)
The roof of the mouth in vertebrate animals, separating the mouth from the passages of the nose. ◇ The bony part of the palate is called the hard palate. ◇ A soft, flexible, rear portion of the palate, called the soft palate, is present in mammals only and serves to close off the mouth from the nose during swallowing.
palate [(pal-uht)]

The roof of the mouth. The palate separates the mouth from the nasal cavity.

Note: It is sometimes said that a person has a “cultivated palate” if he or she has a discerning taste for food.