Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PLAT'FORM, n. [plat, flat, and form.]

1. The sketch of any thing horizontally delineated; the ichnography. – Sandys.
2. A place laid out after any model. – Pope.
3. In the military art, an elevation of earth or a floor of wood or stone, on which cannons are mounted to fire on an enemy. – Encyc.
4. In architecture, a row of beams or a piece of timber which supports the timber-work of a roof, and lying on the top of the wall. – Encyc. This in New England is called the plate.
5. A kind of terrace or broad smooth open walk on the top of a building, as in the oriental houses. – Encyc.
6. In ships, the orlop. [See Orlop.]
7. Any number of planks or other materials forming a floor for any purpose. – Mar. Dict.
8. A plan; a scheme; ground-work. – Bacon.
9. In some of the New England states, an ecclesiastical constitution, or a plan for the government of churches; as, the Cambridge or Saybrook platform.