Platefuls

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An amount of food that completely fills a plate, typically served as a single portion for consumption
2. A serving size that occupies the entire surface area of a plate, often containing a variety of edible items
3. A quantity of food that encompasses the entire plate's capacity, usually intended for one person to eat at a time

Etymology: "Platefuls" is the plural of "plateful," a noun meaning as much as a plate can hold. It is the form you reach for when you mean several such quantities at once, as in "three platefuls of pasta." The base word "plate" comes from Old French "plate," a flat dish, and the suffix "-ful," from Old English "full," turns a container into a measure of its contents. The same pattern gives us "spoonful," "cupful," and "armful," each naming what a container or limb can hold.

Synonyms: servings, portions