Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Laureate \Lau"re*ate\, a. [L. laureatus, fr. laurea laurel tree,
   fr. laureus of laurel, fr. laurus laurel: cf. F. laur['e]at.
   Cf. {Laurel}.]
   Crowned, or decked, with laurel. --Chaucer.

         To strew the laureate hearse where Lycid lies.
                                                  --Milton.

         Soft on her lap her laureate son reclines. --Pope.

   {Poet laureate}.
   (b) One who received an honorable degree in grammar,
       including poetry and rhetoric, at the English
       universities; -- so called as being presented with a
       wreath of laurel. [Obs.]
   (b) Formerly, an officer of the king's household, whose
       business was to compose an ode annually for the king's
       birthday, and other suitable occasions; now, a poet
       officially distinguished by such honorary title, the
       office being a sinecure. It is said this title was first
       given in the time of Edward IV. [Eng.]

Poet \Po"et\, n. [F. po["e]te, L. po["e]ta, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to
   make. Cf. {Poem}.]
   One skilled in making poetry; one who has a particular genius
   for metrical composition; the author of a poem; an
   imaginative thinker or writer.

         The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance
         from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven. --Shak.

         A poet is a maker, as the word signifies. --Dryden.

   {Poet laureate}. See under {Laureate}.

Source : WordNet®

Poet Laureate
     n : the poet officially appointed to the royal household in
         Great Britain; "the Poet Laureate is expected to provide
         poems for great national occasions"