pal·let¹ / ˈpalit/ • n. a straw mattress. ∎  a crude or makeshift bed.pal·let² • n. 1. a portable platform on which goods can be moved, stacked, and stored, esp. with the aid of a forklift.2. a flat wooden blade with a handle, used to shape clay or plaster.3. an artist's palette.4. a projection on a machine part, serving to change the mode of motion of a wheel. ∎  (in a clock or watch) a projection transmitting motion from an escapement to a pendulum or balance wheel.pal·let³ • n. Heraldry the diminutive of the pale, a narrow vertical strip, usually borne in groups of two or three.

pallet2 flat-bladed wooden instrument XVI; flat board; projection which engages with the tooth of a wheel XVIII. — (O)F. palette, dim. of pale spade, blade:— L. pāla spade, shovel, rel. to pālus stake, PALE1.

pallet1 (straw) mattress. XIV. ME. pail(l)et — AN. paillete straw, f. OF. paille straw:— L. palea chaff, straw.