plaque

/plæk/

/plæk/

Other forms: plaques

A plaque is a sign that memorializes a person or event, such as the plaque on a building noting the person it's named after or the year it was built.

Plaque comes from the French word for "plate," meaning not a dinner plate, but a little brass or tin plate that can be mounted on a wall. If you take a tour of Civil War battlefields, you'll find that historical societies often use plaques to commemorate soldiers or particular events. Plaque is also a hard buildup in the body, like the plaque on your teeth that the dentist likes to scrape off.

Definitions of plaque

1. noun

   a memorial made of brass
   synonyms: brass, memorial tablet

   type of:

   memorial, monument

   a structure erected to commemorate persons or events
2. noun

   (pathology) a small abnormal patch on or inside the body
   types:

   amyloid plaque, amyloid protein plaque

   a plaque consisting of tangles of amyloid protein in nervous tissue (a pathological mark of Alzheimer's disease)

   arterial plaque

   a fatty deposit inside an arterial wall; characteristic of atherosclerosis

   bacterial plaque, dental plaque

   a film of mucus and bacteria deposited on the teeth that encourages the development of dental caries

   type of:

   dapple, fleck, maculation, patch, speckle, spot

   a small contrasting part of something
3. noun

   a soft, sticky film of bacteria that forms on teeth