nounplural noun paterae/ˈpat(ə)riː/

• 1A broad, shallow dish used in ancient Rome for pouring libations.

  ‘Originally, he may have been pouring a libation from a patera, as is common in similar sacrifice scenes belonging to this iconographic topos.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The Bath patera can be seen in the Roman Baths Museum, and the Amiens patera in the Musée de Picardie-Amiens.’
  • ‘Other antiques included an enamelled patera that might have been anywhere between 100 and 150 years old when deposited, and glass vessels that had also seen long use.’
  • ‘The most exciting feature of the patera is the inscription.’

  1. 1.1Architecture A flat round ornament resembling a shallow dish.
• 2A broad, shallow bowl-shaped feature on the surface of a planet.