Plaquettes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, flat piece often used for decoration or commemoration can also serve as an educational tool or printed card, and at times function as a marketing token or promotional item
2. Typically flat and decorative, such objects can be commemorative tablets or printed cards for information, and may even act as promotional items in marketing strategies
3. A thin, flat object often used as a decorative or commemorative item ; a card printed with images or information for educational or reference purposes ; a token distributed to promote a product or event

Etymology: "Plaquettes" is simply the plural of "plaquette," a noun borrowed from French, where it means "small plaque." The French word is a diminutive of "plaque," a flat plate or sheet, so a plaquette is literally a little plate. English took the term over with its original sense of a small flat object, which explains why the word fits so neatly with commemorative tablets and printed cards. The French word is generally said to have been coined in the 1860s, which makes it a fairly recent addition to the vocabulary. It belongs to a family of French words built with the "-ette" ending, which marks something small, and the same pattern appears in many everyday borrowings in English.

Synonyms: medallions, plaques, tokens