spat
See also: Spat, spaț, spať, spát, spät, şpat, ṣpät, and spAt
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /spæt/
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -æt
Etymology 1
Old English spittan, spætan.
Verb
spat
- simple past tense and past participle of spit
- There was no sink in the room so we spat out the window.
- If I had known you had a spittoon in the corner I would never have spat on the floor.
Etymology 2
Uncertain; perhaps related to spit.
Noun
spat (uncountable)
- The spawn of shellfish, especially oysters and similar molluscs.
- 2005, TVR Pillay & MN Kutty, Aquaculture: Principles and practices, p. 525:
- As spat-fall often occurs in areas away from environments suitable for oyster growing, the collection, transport and sale of oyster spat has developed into a separate industry.
- 2005, TVR Pillay & MN Kutty, Aquaculture: Principles and practices, p. 525:
- A juvenile shellfish which has attached to a hard surface.
- 2011, The Pearl Oyster, page 256:
- Conditions in pearl oyster hatcheries are optimized for growth and survival of spat.
- 1988, Bivalve Mollusc Culture Research in Thailand, page 28:
- If the spat are allowed to remain attached to the tank bottom for more than two days, they are difficult to remove without damage to the shell.
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Translations
spawn of shellfish
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young of shellfish
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- 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
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Verb
spat (third-person singular simple present spats, present participle spatting, simple past and past participle spatted)
- (transitive, intransitive) To spawn. Used of shellfish as above.
Etymology 3
Shortening of spatterdash, from spatter + dash. 1779.
A felt spat
Australian 1970s Holden Kingswood with spats
Noun
spat (plural spats)
- (often in the plural) A covering or decorative covering worn over a shoe.
- Coordinate term: gaiter
- (automotive, UK, Australia) A piece of bodywork that covers the upper portions of the rear tyres of a car.
- Synonym: (US) fender skirt
- (aviation) A drag-reducing aerodynamic fairing covering the upper portions of the tyres of an aeroplane equipped with non-retractable landing gear.
Translations
covering worn over a shoe
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automotive: piece of bodywork
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Etymology 4
1804. American English, probably imitative.
Noun
spat (plural spats)
- A brief argument, falling out, quarrel.
- get into a trivial spat over punctuality
- have a vicious spat with the cousins
- 2017 January 14, “Some Thais worry that a lasting power struggle is brewing. Others see a minor spat over language, which will quickly be forgotten.”, in The Economist:
- 2022 November 16, Graham Eccles, “The Rest Day Working saga...”, in RAIL, number 970, page 32:
- The downside of this cost-saving strategy was that the train service could only be covered by goodwill. Whenever there was a spat between ASLEF and management - regardless of cause - the withdrawal of this goodwill became a stick with which unions could beat management.
Translations
quarrel
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Verb
spat (third-person singular simple present spats, present participle spatting, simple past and past participle spatted)
- To quarrel or argue briefly.
Translations
to quarrel
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Further reading
- Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
Etymology 5
Attested from 1823.
Noun
spat (plural spats)
- A light blow with something flat.
Translations
light blow with something flat
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Verb
spat (third-person singular simple present spats, present participle spatting, simple past and past participle spatted)
- (transitive and intransitive) To strike with a spattering sound.
- 1922, B. M. Bower, The Trail of the White Mule, ch. 3:
- He felt the wind of a second bullet that spatted against a boulder near Barney.
- 2007, Nolan Clay, "Co-workers testify about Kelsey's mother," Daily Oklahoman, 13 July, (retrieved 25 Aug. 2009):
- "She mentioned she had spatted Kelsey on her diaper with a hairbrush," said Mildred Johnson, a co-worker.
- 1922, B. M. Bower, The Trail of the White Mule, ch. 3:
- (US, dialect) To slap, as with the open hand; to clap together, as the hands.
- 1845, Sylvester Judd, Margaret
- Little Isabel leaped up and down, spatting her hands.
- 1845, Sylvester Judd, Margaret
Translations
to strike with spattering sound
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Etymology 6
Latin spatium (“space”)
Noun
spat (plural spats)
- An obsolete unit of distance in astronomy (symbol S), equal to one billion kilometres.
Anagrams
- APTS, APTs, ATSP, PATs, PSAT, PTAs, PTSA, Pats, TAPs, TPAs, Taps, ap'ts, apts, past, pats, stap, taps
Amis
Etymology
From Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.
Numeral
spat
- four
Danish
Etymology
From Middle Low German spat. Compare German Spat and Swedish spatt.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /spat/, [sb̥ad̥]
Noun
spat c (singular definite spatten, not used in plural form)
- spavin (disease of horses characterized by a bony swelling developed on the hock as the result of inflammation of the bones)
- få spat – get annoyed or angry
Derived terms
- spattet
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /spɑt/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: spat
- Rhymes: -ɑt
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch spat.
Noun
spat m (plural spatten)
- (obsolete) blowgun
- Synonyms: blaaspijp, blaasroer
Etymology 2
From spatten.
Noun
spat m (plural spatten, diminutive spatje n)
- spot, speckle, stain
Derived terms
- bloedspat
Descendants
- → Papiamentu: spat
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
spat
- first-, second- and third-person singular present indicative of spatten
- imperative of spatten
Anagrams
- past, stap, taps
Lower Sorbian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [spat]
Verb
spat
- supine of spaś
Serbo-Croatian
Verb
spat
- Short form of spavati: "Cili Trogir ide spat" = "Cijeli Trogir ide spati" = "The whole City of Trogir goes to sleep"
Taroko
Etymology
From Proto-Atayalic *səpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.
Numeral
spat
- four