"Palette," "Palate," and "Pallet" - Grammar Girl - Quick and Dirty Tips

by Mignon Fogarty

Remember that "palate," which means the roof of your mouth or describes your sense of taste, ends with "-ate"—it's all about food.

"Pallet" refers to a bed or those wooden platforms that goods are strapped to for shipping. That's a little harder to remember, but think of the two l's as a little rectangular bed or shipping pallet in the middle of the word.

Finally, a palette is a set of colors or the board artists use to hold paint. There are many famous French painters (e.g., Monet, Renoir, Cezanne) and the "-ette" ending on "palette" is common in French. (My name, Mignon, comes from "mignonette," a French word that is the name of a plant with small, fragrant flowers.)
 

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