footplate

footplate [foo t-pleyt] ExamplesWord Origin noun

1. Carpentry. a plate running beneath and supporting a row of studs; mudsill.
2. a platform or special floor area on which workers stand to operate a machine.

Origin of footplate First recorded in 1840–50; foot + plate1 Examples from the Web for footplate Historical Examples of footplate

He caught at the rail, mounted the footplate, and swung himself into the cab.

Sergeant Silk the Prairie Scout

Robert Leighton

When he slid back to the footplate his legs were wet to the mid shin.

The Grafters

Francis Lynde

But again the corner of the footplate jammed with the corner of the truck, and again we came to a jarring halt.

London to Ladysmith via Pretoria

Winston Spencer Churchill

He could not help thinking how excellent a thing it would be to come home after a grimy run on the footplate.

Cleg Kelly, Arab of the City

S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

British Dictionary definitions for footplate footplate noun

1. mainly British
   1. a platform in the cab of a locomotive on which the crew stand to operate the controls
   2. (as modifier)a footplate man

footplate in Medicine footplate [fut′plāt′] n.

1. base of stapes
2. pedicel