palette

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A board, typically with a hole for the thumb, which an artist can hold while painting and on which colors are mixed.
2. n. The range of colors used in a particular painting or by a particular artist: a limited palette.
3. n. The range of qualities inherent in nongraphic art forms such as music and literature.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A thin usually oval or oblong board or tablet with a hole for the thumb at one end, on which a painter lays his pigments when painting.
2. n. The set of colors or pigments available for one class or character of work; the set of colors which a painter has on his palette when painting a picture: thus, in ceramics the under-glaze palette is much more limited than the over-glaze.
3. n. In metal-working, a breastplate against which a person leans to furnish pressure for the hand-drill.
4. n. In medicine: A light wooden spatula used for percussion in massage.
5. n. A light splint for the hand.
6. n. A small plate protecting the gusset of the armor.
7. n. In entomology, a disk-shaped organ formed by three dilated tarsal joints which are closely united. It is found especially on the front and middle tarsi of the males of certain aquatic beetles; the joints have cupules or suckers beneath, by which the insect clings to smooth surfaces.
8. n. In ornithology, a parrot of the genus Prioniturus: so called from the conformation of the tail.
9. n. In conchology, see pallet, 10.

Wiktionary

1. n. A thin board on which a painter lays and mixes colours.
2. n. The range of colors in a given work or item or body of work.
3. n. computing, graphical user interface A visual selection of colours, tools, commands, etc.
4. n. A plate of armour covering the points of junction at the bend of the shoulders and elbows.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Paint.) A thin, oval or square board, or tablet, with a thumb hole at one end for holding it, on which a painter lays and mixes his pigments. Hence, any other object, usually one with a flat surface, used for the same purpose.
2. n. The complete set of colors used by an artist or other person in creating an image, in any medium. The meaning of this term has been extended in modern times to include the set of colors used in a particular computer application, or the complete set of of colors available in computer displays or printing techniques.
3. n. The complete range of resources and techniques used in any art, such as music.
4. n. (Anc. Armor) One of the plates covering the points of junction at the bend of the shoulders and elbows.
5. n. (Mech.) A breastplate for a breast drill.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. board that provides a flat surface on which artists mix paints and the range of colors used
2. n. the range of colour characteristic of a particular artist or painting or school of art
3. n. one of the rounded armor plates at the armpits of a suit of armor