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pate

pate

7 9.0
The top of the head that is often bald
  • noun
  • /peɪt/
translation icon : cabeza
  • The gleaming bald pate, now covered with a skullcap, had spread over the entire skull, from ear to ear.

Examples

  • Light from the window behind him bounced off his perspiring bald pate to create a glare that made Jack squint.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • "Reith dislodged the hat to reveal a stark bald pate.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • San De runs his hand across his bald pate and smiles.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Count D'Medved had a bald pate and a big black beard.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Heiberg tapped his own bald pate three times as he had done when telling this story to his classes.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Now he appeared older than Randolph, bald pate gleaming with perspiration, badly overweight and overwrought.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Wilkie wore a gray fedora to protect his bald pate from the sun.

  • Count D'Medved had a bald pate that shone in the sunlight.

  • Light from the window created a glare off his shiny bald pate.

Synonyms

head
vspate
1.8

The rounded top part of something, like a bone or tool

is narrower, meaning specifically the human top area, often hairless
scalp
vspate
101 3.5

Skin on the top of the head that usually has hair

refers instead to the top area itself, often when it lacks hair
crown
vspate
47 4.1

The top part of something, for example the raised middle of a road

is used for the same top area but especially when it is hairless
poll
vspate
  • Specialized
14 8.9

The top part of an animal's head behind the forehead

applies mainly to the human top area, especially when hairless
chrome dome
vspate
  • Offensive
1 9.6

A smooth shiny bald head that people joke about

is a neutral word for the top area rather than a humorous label

Compounds

A rich smooth paste people make from goose liver and eat on bread

How Informal

noggin
  • Informal
20 8.7
bonce
  • UK
9.9
pate
7 9.0
head
1.0
cranium
  • Specialized
20 5.7

Surface Forms

pate singular
pates plural

Etymology

Pate comes from an old French word for 'head' and came into English to mean the 'top' or 'crown' of the head. So when you speak of someone's pate you are pointing to the very top of their head, often the bald, shiny part.