Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PAL'ATE, n. [L. palatum, properly the arch or cope of heaven.]

1. The roof or upper part of the mouth. – Encyc.
2. Taste. Hard task to hit the palates of such guests. – Pope. [This signification of the word originated in the opinion that the palate is the instrument of taste. This is a mistake. In itself it has no power of taste.]
3. Mental relish; intellectual taste. Men of nice palates could not relish Aristotle, as dressed up by the schoolmen. – Baker.