PATEN (through the Fr. from

See also:

• LAT

Lat.

See also:

• PATINA (probably from the Latin word for a flat dish, from patere, to lie open; cf. " paten ")

patina or paten, Gr. aaravq, a

See also:

• FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat dish)  , the name of the shallow plate or dish used in the celebration of the Eucharist for the consecrated bread or wafer . The paten has from the first been almost always of a circular shape . There is a rare example of a rectangular one, dating from the 7th century, in the Cabinet des Medailles in Paris . The central portion of the paten is sometimes decorated with the engraved head of the Saviour, or commonly with a group of lobes .