platen Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun work table of a machine tool
  2. noun the flat plate of a printing press that presses the paper against the type
  3. noun the roller on a typewriter against which the keys strike

WordNet

Plat"en noun
Etymology
F. platine, fr. plat flat. See Plate, and cf. Platin.
Definitions
  1. (Mach.) (a) The part of a printing press which presses the paper against the type and by which the impression is made. (b) Hence, an analogous part of a typewriter, on which the paper rests to receive an impression. (c) The movable table of a machine tool, as a planer, on which the work is fastened, and presented to the action of the tool; -- also called table.

Webster 1913