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Spate

 - 3 dictionary results

spate

  [speyt] ,
Use Spate in a Sentence
–noun
1. a sudden, almost overwhelming, outpouring: a spate of angry words.
2. British.
a. a flood or inundation.
b. a river flooding its banks.
c. a sudden or heavy rainstorm.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME (north) < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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spate   (spāt)   
n.  

  1. A sudden flood, rush, or outpouring: "It issues a spate of words from the loudspeakers and the politicians" (Virginia Woolf).

  2. Chiefly British

    1. A flash flood.

    2. A freshet resulting from a downpour of rain or melting of snow.

    3. A sudden heavy fall of rain.


[Middle English.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

spate 
c.1425, originally Scottish and northern Eng., "a sudden flood, especially one caused by heavy rains or a snowmelt," of unknown origin. Perhaps from O.Fr. espoit "flood," from Du. spuiten "to flow, spout;" related to spout. Fig. sense of "unusual quantity" is attested from c.1614.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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