scatter

English

Etymology

From Middle English scateren, skateren, (also schateren, see shatter), from Old English *sceaterian, probably from a dialect of Old Norse. Possibly related to Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split, shatter”). Compare Middle Dutch scheteren (“to scatter”), Low German schateren, Dutch schateren (“to burst out laughing”); and is apparently remotely akin to Ancient Greek σκεδάννυμι (skedánnumi, “scatter, disperse”).[1] and Tocharian B kät- (“to scatter, sow seeds”). Doublet of shatter.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈskætə/
(General American) enPR: skătʹər, IPA^(key): /ˈskætɚ/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ætə(ɹ)
Hyphenation: scat‧ter

Verb

scatter (third-person singular simple present scatters, present participle scattering, simple past and past participle scattered)

(ergative) To (cause to) separate and go in different directions; to disperse.
The crowd scattered in terror.
- c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene ii]:
  Scatter and disperse the giddy Goths.
(transitive) To distribute loosely as by sprinkling.
Her ashes were scattered at the top of a waterfall.
- 1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432:
  Why should my muse enlarge on Libyan swains, / Their scattered cottages, and ample plains?
(transitive, physics) To deflect (radiation or particles).
- 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, OCLC 246633669, PC, scene: Chasca planetary description:
  Chasca's ring is unique. It appears to be, for lack of a better term, a massive piece of alien "installation art." The rings are made of small pieces of synthetic material, and are almost invisible from space. From the ground, they catch and scatter the light of Matano in picturesque ways. It is not known who created the ring or when.
(intransitive) To occur or fall at widely spaced intervals.
(transitive) To frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow.
to scatter hopes or plans
(transitive) To be dispersed upon.
Desiccated stalks scattered the fields.
- 2016, J. D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy, page 21:
  […] its beauty is obscured by the environmental waste and loose trash that scatter the countryside.
(transitive, baseball) Of a pitcher: to keep down the number of hits or walks.

Synonyms

(disperse): See also Thesaurus:disperse

Derived terms

scatterbrain
scatterplot
scattershot
scatter to the four winds

Translations

to scatter — see disperse

to cause to separate

Arabic: نَثَرَ‎ (naṯara), تَفَرَّقَ‎ (tafarraqa)
Bulgarian: разпръсквам (bg) (razprǎskvam)
Cherokee: ᎠᏗᎦᎴᏯᎠ (adigaleyaa)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 散佈／散布 (zh) (sànbù)
Czech: rozházet pf
Dutch: verstrooien (nl), verspreiden (nl)
Finnish: sirottaa
French: disperser (fr)
Georgian: განცალკევება (gancalḳeveba), ჩამოშორება (čamošoreba)
German: zerstreuen (de)
Gothic: 𐌳𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌷𐌾𐌰𐌽 (distahjan)
Greek:
Ancient: σκεδάννυμι (skedánnumi)
Italian: disperdere (it)
Japanese: (defuse) 散らす (chirasu); (causing mess) 散らかす (chirakasu)
Korean: 흩다 (heutda), 뿌리다 (ko) (ppurida)
Latin: spargō
Maori: whakamarara
Mongolian: тараах (mn) (taraax)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: spre (no)
Nynorsk: spreie
Persian: پراکندن‎ (fa) (parâkandan)
Portuguese: espalhar (pt), dispersar (pt)
Russian: разбра́сывать (ru) impf (razbrásyvatʹ), разброса́ть (ru) pf (razbrosátʹ)
Spanish: dispersar (es)
Swedish: sprida (sv), strö (sv), strö ut, skingra (sv)
Telugu: చెదురు {cheduru}
Tocharian B: käsk-
Turkish: dağılmak (tr), yaymak (tr)
Zazaki: vıla biyen

to disperse

Bulgarian: разсейвам (bg) (razsejvam)
Czech: rozptýlit pf
Dutch: uiteenspatten (nl), uiteengaan (nl)
Finnish: sirota (fi)
French: se disperser (fr)
German: zerstreuen (de)
Gothic: 𐌳𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌷𐌾𐌰𐌽 (distahjan)
Italian: disperdersi
Japanese: 散る (ja) (chiru), 散らばる (chirabaru)
Korean: 흩어지다 (ko) (heuteojida)
Latin: dissipō
Maori: whakamarara, tītaritari, tītari, rauroha, whakaehu
Mongolian: цацах (mn) (cacax)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: spre (no)
Nynorsk: spreie
Portuguese: espalhar (pt)
Russian: развеять (ru) (razvejatʹ)
Spanish: dispersar (es)
Swedish: skingras (sv), skingra (sv) sig
Telugu: చెదురు (ceduru)

to distribute loosely

Crimean Tatar: cayratmaq
Czech: roztrousit pf
Dutch: verstrooien (nl), verspreiden (nl)
Esperanto: disĵeti
Finnish: sirotella (fi)
French: éparpiller (fr), parsemer (fr)
Georgian: გაფანტვა (gapanṭva), მიმობნევა (mimobneva)
German: streuen (de), verstreuen (de), ausstreuen (de)
Irish: easraigh
Italian: sparpagliare (it), cospargere (it)
Japanese: (other than seeds) 撒く (ja) (maku), 散布する (ja) (sanpu suru); (for seeds) 蒔く (ja) (maku); (for seeds in a broad area) 播く (ja) (maku)
Maori: whakamarara, tītaritari, tītari, kaihora
Norwegian: strø (no)
Old Turkic: 𐰽𐰲‎ (sač-)
Portuguese: espalhar (pt)
Russian: разбра́сывать (ru) impf (razbrásyvatʹ), разброса́ть (ru) pf (razbrosátʹ), разбры́згивать (ru) impf (razbrýzgivatʹ), разбры́згать (ru) pf (razbrýzgatʹ) (liquid)
Sanskrit: स्तृणोति (sa) (stṛṇoti), स्तृनाति (stṛnāti)
Scottish Gaelic: breac, fras
Spanish: esparcir (es)
Swedish: beströ (sv)
Turkish: saçmak (tr), savurmak (tr), serpmek (tr), serpiştirmek (tr)
Zazaki: sanen, raken

physics: to deflect

Bulgarian: разсейвам (bg) (razsejvam)
Czech: rozesít pf
Dutch: verstrooien (nl)
Finnish: sirottaa
German: streuen (de)
Italian: deflettere
Japanese: 散乱する (ja) (sanran suru)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: spre (no)
Nynorsk: spreie
Russian: рассе́ивать (ru) impf (rasséivatʹ), рассе́ять (ru) pf (rasséjatʹ)
Spanish: desviar (es)
Swedish: sprida (sv)
Zazaki: roken

to occur at intervals

Italian: dilazionarsi
Swedish: sprida (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Arabic: ^{(please verify)} نثر‎
Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} ŝuti (eo)
Kannada: ^{(please verify)} ಚದರು (kn) (cadaru), ^{(please verify)} ಎರಚು (kn) (eracu), ^{(please verify)} ಈಡಾಡು (kn) (īḍāḍu), ^{(please verify)} ಚಲ್ಲು (kn) (callu), ^{(please verify)} ಬೀರು (kn) (bīru), ^{(please verify)} ಸೀರು (kn) (sīru), ^{(please verify)} ಕೊಡಹು (kn) (koḍahu), ^{(please verify)} ಬಿದಿರು (kn) (bidiru)
Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 散佈／散布 (zh) (sànbù)
Turkish: ^{(please verify)} dağılmak (tr), ^{(please verify)} etrafa yayılmak

Noun

scatter (countable and uncountable, plural scatters)

The act of scattering or dispersing.
A collection of dispersed objects.
- 2006, Theano S. Terkenli; Anne-Marie d'Hauteserre, Landscapes of a New Cultural Economy of Space, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 84:
  The Los Angeles Basin evolved as a mobility surface principally through the combination of an initial system of electric railways connecting a scatter of agricultural settlement settlements.
- 2015, Ian Shennan; Antony J. Long; Benjamin P. Horton, Handbook of Sea-Level Research, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 19:
  The plot of all our sea-level index points shows a scatter of data points that do not overlap […]

References

Skeat

Anagrams

tracest

[1] Skeat