paten
/ˈpætən/
"paten" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“paten” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The plate used to hold the host during the Eucharist.
Corpus desk
Index EN-paten · paten · English
paten · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | paten |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpætən/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “paten” in English
Rare enough to double-check
paten is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpætən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
paten doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English patene, from Old French patene, from Latin patina, from Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē). Doublet of patina, patine, and patena. The correct English form is paten, spelled P-A-T-E-N.
Definition
- 1The plate used to hold the host during the Eucharist.
- 2Any shallow dish found in an archaeological site.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how paten appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
An enameled miniature of Christ is set in the center of a jeweled alabaster paten, the plate that holds the bread during Communion services.
Etymology
From Middle English patene, from Old French patene, from Latin patina, from Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē). Doublet of patina, patine, and patena.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.