plate rail

American  

noun

1. a rail or narrow shelf fixed along a wall to hold plates, especially for ornament or display.

---

plate rail British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: plate.  railways an early flat rail with an extended flange on its outer edge to retain wheels on the track

---

Etymology

Origin of plate rail

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plate rail

High plate rail: A deep shelf with decorative wood brackets turns the dead zone along a soffit into an attention-grabber.

From Time ● Mar. 12, 2015

The black cats, their eyes touched with phosphorus, glared down from the plate rail.

From Ethel Morton's Holidays by Smith, Mabell S. C. (Mabell Shippie Clarke)

Where the coved portion flowed into the perpendicular of the wall there was a broad moulding, like a plate rail, which acted as a support for the hanging pictures.

From The Blind Spot by Hall, Austin

Comparing them side by side on a plate rail, or hanging on the wall, old Delft is told by its soft, beautiful blue.

From Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings by Northend, Mary H.

S-4-S.1 plate rail, 1/2 by 1-1/2 by 58 in.,

From Mission Furniture How to Make It, Part 3 by Windsor, H. H. (Henry Haven)