Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The human head, especially the top of the head.
  • noun The mind or brain.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The crown or top of the head, whether of a person or of an animal; in general, the head; the poll; the noddle: usually employed in a trivial or derogatory sense, like noddle, etc.
  • noun The skin of a calf's head. Imp. Dict.
  • noun Wit; cleverness; “brains”; “head.”
  • noun In the fur trade, the fur from a black patch on the head of the wild rabbit.
  • noun A badger.
  • Weak and sickly.
  • noun The flesh split obtained in splitting or leveling a side of leather.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Now generally used in contempt or ridicule. The head of a person; the top, or crown, of the head.
  • noun The skin of a calf's head.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The head, particularly the top or crown.
  • noun archaic Wit, cleverness, cognitive abilities.
  • noun Alternative spelling of pâté. (finely-ground paste of meat, fish, etc.)
  • noun The interior body, or non-rind portion of cheese, described by its texture, density, and color.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the top of the head
  • noun liver or meat or fowl finely minced or ground and variously seasoned

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

c.1200, perhaps a shortened form of Old French patene or Medieval Latin patena, both from Latin patina ("pan, dish")

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

c.1700, French pâté, from Old French paste, pastée.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Also the top of a bald man's head.

    April 13, 2009

  • ...and the wool of his pate shaved into queer patterns...

    -Heart of Darknesss (Conrad)

    March 19, 2011

  • tons of meaning for this word

    November 25, 2012