platen Hear it!

platen definition

platen (plat′'n)

noun

  1. a flat metal plate, as that in a printing press which presses the paper against the inked type
  2. ☆ in a typewriter, the roller against which the keys strike

Etymology: ME plateyne < OFr platine, flat plate, metal plate < plat: see plate

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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