English
T-plate
Blend of T + plate; T stands for tourist; emerged in Scotland in the mid-2020s for the Scottish Highlands before being adapted in other countries.
Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- ‘flat’
…
Vulgar Latin *plattus ‘flat’
Medieval Latin plata
Old French plate ‘a flat metal disk’
Middle English plate
English plate
The story
Blend of T + plate; T stands for tourist; emerged in Scotland in the mid-2020s for the Scottish Highlands before being adapted in other countries.
Today it means
noun A square, white sign featuring a green letter "T" attached to a rental or visitor's car; used to alert locals and other drivers that the person behind the wheel is unfamiliar with the area's roads, signaling them to give the driver extra space and patience.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / T-plate