What is a 'plated harness'?

Question

I came across this paragraph reading John Adams by David McCullough,

Of London, he(Jefferson) thought only the shops worthy of attention, and devoted ample time to them, spending lavishly on shoes, boots, a flintlock rifle, a reading lamp, plated harness and stirrups, and a set of chessmen.

According to Dictionary.com, plate uses as verb means "to coat (metal) with a thin film of gold, silver, nickel, etc., by mechanical or chemical means". So does "plated harness" here mean 'metal-coated harness"?

M-W correctly indicates that metal-on-metal is not mandatory. — Edwin Ashworth, Jul 07 '17 at 13:45
"Plat" is an alternative spelling of "plait," so are we sure this isn't "plaited" (plated)? Harnesses are leather, typically. — Yorik, Jul 07 '17 at 15:19
And from context, the harness and stirrups are problably sliver- or gold-plated. — Davo, Jul 07 '17 at 15:32

Anton Shepelev · Answer 1 · 2017-07-09T22:19:33.717

2

Yorik is correct. McCullough uses plated in the sense of plaited. Harness is made of leather and must be supple. Nobody would cover it with metal plates either for decorative or for military purposes.

edited Jul 09 '17 at 22:19

answered Jul 07 '17 at 17:06

Anton Shepelev

385

What is a 'plated harness'?

1 Answers1