Talk:Polished plate glass

The article refers to "sheet" glass. What is this? How is this different to "plate" glass? Crom 130.194.130.59 (talk) 23:02, 4 November 2010 (UTC) Is the term 'plate glass' derived from the French word for flat - plat?—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 84.64.162.104 (talk • contribs) 18:11, November 5, 2006.[reply]

Not directly. Plate was in use in English to describe thin, flat material hundreds of years before plate glass was invented. The English word does come originally from the French though. Dictionary.com gives the etymology of plate as:

Origin: 1250–1300; ME < OF: lit., something flat, n. use of fem. of plat FLAT < VL *plattus, akin to Gk platýs broad, flat

Translated, that means that the word started being used in middle English in the late 1200's, and came from the Old French word for flat. The French got it from "VL", which I presume identifies some form of Latin. The Latin word is related to an earlier Greek word.--Srleffler 03:03, 6 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]