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fishplate

American  
[fish-pleyt] / ˈfɪʃˌpleɪt /

noun

  1. a metal or wooden plate or slab, bolted to each of two members that have been butted or lapped together.

  2. Railroads Now Rare. a joint bar.


fishplate British  
/ ˈfɪʃˌpleɪt /

noun

  1. a flat piece of metal joining one rail, stanchion, or beam to another

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fishplate

1850–55; fish, alteration of French fiche fastening, derivative of ficher to fasten, fix ( fichu ) + plate 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Investigators there are still trying to understand how the bolts holding down the fishplate could have come unscrewed or broken, although there is no evidence of sabotage in that case.

From Reuters • Jul. 19, 2013

The same component, known as a fishplate, is blamed for causing the Bretigny-sur-Orge accident.

From Reuters • Jul. 19, 2013

The fishplate instead of the frog, and the steel rail in place of the good old snakehead!

From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 11 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Businessmen by Hubbard, Elbert

Most of the rail was old chair iron, short, and consequently more time was used in making the change than would have been required had our work been on fishplate rail.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 623, December 10, 1887 by Various