Silver plating has been used since the 18th century to provide cheaper versions of household items that would otherwise be made of solid silver, including cutlery, vessels of various kinds, and candlesticks. In the UK the assay offices, and silver dealers and collectors, use the term "silver plate" for items made from solid silver, derived long before silver plating was invented from the Spanish word for silver "plata", seizures of silver from Spanish ships carrying silver from America being a large source of silver at the time. This can cause confusion when talking about silver items; plate or plated. In the UK it is illegal to describe silver-plated items as "silver". It is not illegal to describe silver-plated items as "silver plate", although this is grammatically incorrect, and should also be avoided to prevent confusion.