Plateau

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈplætəʊ/

Definitions

1. A flat elevated area of land that rises sharply above surrounding terrain
2. A high and flat expanse of land that is distinctly raised above the surrounding areas
3. An elevated and flat region of land that stands out from the lower surrounding landscape

Etymology: "Plateau" is a French word that started life as a dish. French "plat" meant "a plate," and "plateau" was the diminutive, a small flat tray or platter. The sense moved from the dish to anything with a flat, raised surface, and eventually to land: a broad, level tableland standing above the country around it. English borrowed the word from French, and the geographical sense is the one that stuck. The link to "platter" is closer than it looks. The two words are doublets, meaning they descend from the same source but reached English by different routes, one through French and the other through a separate path that gave "platter." So the same root that gave us a serving tray also gave us the high, flat ground of the Colorado Plateau and the Tibetan Plateau.

Synonyms: tableland, highland, elevation, flatland, mesa

Antonyms: valley, depression, lowland, glen, basin