blat

See also: Blat, blât, blåt, and блат

English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /blæt/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Rhymes: -æt

Etymology 1

Imitative. First attested in 1846 in the intransitive sense of "bleat". Compare English bleat, Old English blǣtan (“to bleat”).

Verb

blat (third-person singular simple present blats, present participle blatting, simple past and past participle blatted)

(intransitive) To cry, as a calf or sheep; bleat.
(intransitive) To make a senseless noise.
- 1991, Stephen King, Needful Things
  A moment later the engine roared into life. Exhaust blatted through the straight-pipes; people stopped on the street to look.
To talk inconsiderately; blab.
To produce an overrich or overblown sound on a brass instrument such as a trumpet, trombone, or tuba.
(transitive) To utter loudly or foolishly; blurt.

Translations

to cry, as a calf or sheep; to bleat

Finnish: inua (fi) (calf), määkiä (fi) (sheep)

to make a senseless noise

Finnish: mölistä (fi)

to talk inconsiderately

Finnish: hölistä (fi), hölöttää (fi)

to produce an overrich or overblown sound on a brass instrument

Finnish: töräyttää

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Russian блат (blat), from Polish blat (“cover, umbrella”) or Yiddish בלאַט‎ (blat, “leaf, list”). Doublet of blade.

Noun

blat (uncountable)

The Soviet system of connections and social relationships; one's social or business network (in Russian or Soviet society).
To open a new business in Russia you need blat.
Synonym: guanxi (from Chinese)
- 1998, Alena V. Ledeneva, Russia's Economy of Favours. Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange, University of London, →ISBN, [Marketing description of that book hardly written by the author]:
  Alena Ledeneva's book is the first to analyse blat in all its historical, socio-economic and cultural aspects, and to explore its implications for post-Soviet society. In a socialist distribution system which resulted in constant shortages, blat developed into an 'economy of favours' which shadowed an overcontrolling centre and represented the reaction of ordinary people to the social constraints they faced.
- 2005, Adam Czarnota, Martin Krygier, Wojciech Sadurski, Rethinking the Rule of Law After Communism, page 334:
  The bribe caused the inflation of the social capital defined as blat. Monetarization of social relations led to the inflation of the social investments that the ordinary citizen has put in their blat networks. Only blat networks of the powerful survived ...
- 2006, Alena V. Ledeneva, How Russia Really Works. The Informal Practices That Shaped Post-Soviet Politics and Business (Culture and Society after Socialism), Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 2:
  I argue that just as blat was an essential type of know-how of Soviet socialism, these postsocialist informal practices represent the “know-how” of post-Soviet Russia.
- 2017, Joseph S. Berliner, "Blat", in David Twichell, The shallow stratigraphy and sand resources offshore of the Mississippi bar, age 326:
  The distinction between the use of blat for personal enrichment and for smoothing the work of the enterprise was emphasized in the interview testimony. [...] The supply agent, for example, often has large quantities of money at his disposal for arranging his blat, much of which he might use for himself but which he devotes instead to making deals of advantage to the enterprise.
- 2017, EASO Country of Origin Information Report. Russian Federation. State Actors of Protection‎, DOI:10.2847/502403, →ISBN, page 32:
  Semukhina and Reynolds mention underlying reasons for the widespread corruption: pre-Soviet and Soviet practices (especially the system of blat⁽¹⁹¹⁾, which continued in the wake of the breakdown of the Soviet Union), institutional factors within the police (e.g. highly militarised structure, lack of accountability), a weak civil society, economic causes (maximising income and minimising risks) and a culture of ‘disrespect for the law’⁽¹⁹²⁾.

Translations

connections; relationships; one's social or business network (Russia)

Armenian: ԽԾԲ (hy) (XCB)
Belarusian: блат m (blat)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 關係／关系 (zh) (guānxi)
Finnish: suhteet (fi), verkosto (fi), blat
Italian: blat m
Polish: blat (pl)
Russian: блат (ru) m (blat)
Spanish: blat (es) m
Ukrainian: блат m (blat)
Yiddish: בלאַט‎ m or n (blat)

Anagrams

Balt, Balt.

Catalan

Etymology

From Medieval Latin blādum, from Frankish *blād (“field produce”), from Proto-Germanic *blēdaz, *blēdō (“flower, leaf”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to flower; leaf”). Compare French blé.

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈblat/
Audio (Valencian) (file)
Audio (Catalonia) (file)
Rhymes: -at

Noun

blat m (uncountable)

wheat

Derived terms

bladar
blader
blat bord
blat de moro

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic بَلَاط‎ (balāṭ, “tiles, paved surface”), eventually from Ancient Greek πλατεῖα (plateîa).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /blaːt/

Noun

blat m (collective, singulative blata, plural blajjet or blejjet, paucal blatiet)

rock (material, a mass or surface of it)

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *blat, from Proto-West Germanic *blad, from Proto-Germanic *bladą.

Noun

blat n

leaf
page (of a book)
panel (in a door)
tongue, blade
any flat surface or object

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Dutch: blad
- Afrikaans: blad (“page”), blaar (“leaf”)
Limburgish: blaad

Occitan

Etymology

From Medieval Latin blādum.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /blat/
Audio (file)
Audio (file)

Noun

blat m (plural blats)

wheat

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *blait, from Proto-Germanic *blaitaz. Cognate with Old High German bleizza (“stain, blue, livor”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /blɑːt/

Adjective

blāt (comparative blātra, superlative blātast, adverb blāte)

pale, livid, ghastly

Declension

Declension of blāt — Strong

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	blāt	blāt	blāt
Accusative	blātne	blāte	blāt
Genitive	blātes	blātre	blātes
Dative	blātum	blātre	blātum
Instrumental	blāte	blātre	blāte
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	blāte	blāta, blāte	blāt
Accusative	blāte	blāta, blāte	blāt
Genitive	blātra	blātra	blātra
Dative	blātum	blātum	blātum
Instrumental	blātum	blātum	blātum

Declension of blāt — Weak

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	blāta	blāte	blāte
Accusative	blātan	blātan	blāte
Genitive	blātan	blātan	blātan
Dative	blātan	blātan	blātan
Instrumental	blātan	blātan	blātan
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	blātan	blātan	blātan
Accusative	blātan	blātan	blātan
Genitive	blātra, blātena	blātra, blātena	blātra, blātena
Dative	blātum	blātum	blātum
Instrumental	blātum	blātum	blātum

Derived terms

blātian

Related terms

blātan

Descendants

Middle English: *blat, *blate, *blot, *blote
- >? Scots: blate, blait

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *blad, from Proto-Germanic *bladą, whence also Old Saxon blad, Old English blæd, Old Norse blað. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥h₃oto-, from *bʰleh₃-.

Noun

blat n (plural bletir)

leaf

Descendants

Middle High German: blat
- Alemannic German: Blatt
  Swabian:
- Central Franconian: Blatt, Blat
  Hunsrik: Blaat
  Luxembourgish: Blat
- East Central German:
  Upper Saxon:
  Vilamovian: błot
- East Franconian:
- German: Blatt
- Rhine Franconian: Blaat, Blatt
  Pennsylvania German: Blatt
- Yiddish: בלאַט‎ (blat)

Polish

blat (1.1)

Etymology

Borrowed from German Blatt, from Middle High German blat, plat, from Old High German blat, from Proto-West Germanic *blad, from Proto-Germanic *bladą.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /blat/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -at
Syllabification: blat

Noun

blat m inan (diminutive blacik)

counter, countertop, tabletop, top (top surface area of a piece of furniture)
cienki blat ― a thin counter
długi blat ― a long counter
duży blat ― a big counter
gruby blat ― a thick counter
lakierowany blat ― a varnished counter
lśniący blat ― a shiny counter
okrągły blat ― a round counter
szeroki blat ― a wide counter
blaszany blat ― a tin counter
dębowy blat ― an oak counter
drewniany blat/blat z drewna ― a wooden counter
marmurowy blat/blat z marmuru ― a marble counter
metalowy blat ― a metal counter
szklany blat/blat ze szkła ― a glass counter
barowy blat/blat baru ― a bar counter
kuchenny blat ― a kitchen counter
podręczny blat ― a portable counter
składany blat ― a folding counter
solidny blat ― a solid counter
blat grzewczy ― a heated counter
blat roboczy ― a worktop
blat biurka ― a desktop
blat kredensu ― a cupboard top
blat lady ― a countertop
blat ławki/ławy ― a benchtop
blat sekretarzyka ― a writing desktop
blat stolika/stołu ― a tabletop
blat szafek ― a cabinet top
blat toaletki ― a vanity table counter
blat do krojenia ― a cutting counter
blat do nauki ― a learning counter
blat do pisania ― a wirting counter
blat do pracy ― a work counter
blat od stołów ― a counter for tables
blat ― a wooden counter
blat ze stali ― a steel counter
blat o jakiejś szerokości ― a counter of a certain width
blat w kształcie czegoś ― a counter in the shape of something
blat w kuchni ― a counter in the kitchen
krawędź blatu ― the edge of a counter
płaszczyzna/powierzchnia blatu ― the surface of a a counter
szerokość blatu ― the width of a counter
wysokość blatu ― the height of a counter
odległość między blatem (a czymś) ― the distance between a counter and something
stół z blatem ― a table with a counter
oparty o blat ― leaned against a counter
pochylony nad blatem ― bent over a counter
ukryty pod blatem ― hidden under a counter
przecierać blat ― to wipe a counter
wytrzeć blat ― to wipe down a counter
coś leży na blacie ― something is on a counter
kłaść/położyć coś na blacie ― to put on a counter
postawić coś na blacie ― to set on a counter

Declension

Declension of blat

	singular	plural
nominative	blat	blaty
genitive	blatu	blatów
dative	blatowi	blatom
accusative	blat	blaty
instrumental	blatem	blatami
locative	blacie	blatach
vocative	blacie	blaty

Romanian

Etymology 1

From German Blatt, from Middle High German blat, plat, from Old High German blat, from Proto-West Germanic *blad (“leaf”), from Proto-Germanic *bladą (“leaf”); akin to Low German Blatt, Dutch blad, English blade, Danish and Swedish blad. Indo-European cognates include Ancient Greek φύλλον (phúllon), Latin folium.

Noun

blat n (plural blaturi)

(cooking) sheet, layer

Declension

Declension of blat

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) blat	blatul	(niște) blaturi	blaturile
genitive/dative	(unui) blat	blatului	(unor) blaturi	blaturilor
vocative	blatule		blaturilor

Etymology 2

From Russian блат (blat, “cronyism”), from Polish blat (“the flat surface of a table”) or Yiddish בלאַט‎ (blat), from German Blatt, from Middle High German blat, plat, from Old High German blat, from Proto-West Germanic *blad (“leaf”), from Proto-Germanic *bladą (“leaf”).

Noun

blat n (plural blaturi)

(slang) illegal activity, particularly travelling on a train without a ticket.
(soccer) match fixing

Declension

Declension of blat

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) blat	blatul	(niște) blaturi	blaturile
genitive/dative	(unui) blat	blatului	(unor) blaturi	blaturilor
vocative	blatule		blaturilor

Derived terms

blatist
blătui

blat

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Verb

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

Translations

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Further reading

Maltese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Middle Dutch

Etymology

Noun

Inflection

Descendants

Further reading

Occitan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Old English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Old High German

Etymology

Noun

Descendants

Polish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Further reading

Romanian

Etymology 1

Noun

Declension

Etymology 2

Noun

Declension

Derived terms