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Definition of patter - 10 dictionary results

pat⋅ter

1  [pat-er]
Use patter in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to make a rapid succession of light taps: Raindrops patter on the windowpane.
2. to move or walk lightly or quickly: The child pattered across the room.
–verb (used with object)
3. to cause to patter.
4. to spatter with something.
–noun
5. a rapid succession of light tapping sounds: the steady patter of rain on the tin roof.
6. the act of pattering.
Origin:
1605–15; pat 1 + -er 6

Synonyms:
1. pat, beat, rap pelt.

pat⋅ter

2  [pat-er]
–noun
1. meaningless, rapid talk; mere chatter; gabble.
2. the usually glib and rapid speech or talk used by a magician while performing, a barker at a circus or sideshow, a comedian or other entertainer, a vendor of questionable wares, or the like; stylized or rehearsed talk used to attract attention, entertain, etc.
3. amusing lines delivered rapidly by an entertainer or performer, as in a comic routine or in a song.
4. the jargon or cant of any class, group, etc.
–verb (used without object)
5. to talk glibly or rapidly, esp. with little regard to meaning; chatter.
6. to repeat a paternoster or other prayer in a rapid, mechanical way.
–verb (used with object)
7. to recite or repeat (prayers, verses, etc.) in a rapid, mechanical way.
8. to repeat or say rapidly or glibly.
Origin:
1375–1425; ME pateren to say the paternoster, pray mechanically; see pater

Related forms:
pat⋅ter⋅er, pat⋅er⋅ist, noun

pat⋅ter

3  [pat-er]
–noun
a person or thing that pats.
Origin:
pat 1 + -er 1

pat

2  [pat]
–adjective
1. exactly to the point or purpose; apt; opportune: a pat solution to a problem.
2. excessively glib; unconvincingly facile: His answers were too pat to suit the examining board.
3. learned, known, or mastered perfectly or exactly: to have something pat.
–adverb
4. exactly or perfectly.
5. aptly; opportunely.
—Idioms
6. down pat. down 1 (def. 49).
7. stand pat,
a. to cling or hold firm to one's decision, policy, or beliefs: The government must stand pat in its policy.
b. Poker. to play a hand as dealt, without drawing other cards.
Origin:
1570–80; orig. adverbial use of pat 1 , as obs. to hit pat to strike accurately

Related forms:
patness, noun
patter, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To patter
pat·ter 1   (pāt'ər)   
v.   pat·tered, pat·ter·ing, pat·ters

v.   intr.

  1. To make a quick succession of light soft tapping sounds: Rain pattered steadily against the glass.

  2. To move with quick, light, softly audible steps.

v.   tr.
To cause to patter.
n.  A quick succession of light soft tapping sounds: the patter of rain on the rooftops.

[Frequentative of pat1.]
pat·ter 2   (pāt'ər)   
v.   pat·tered, pat·ter·ing, pat·ters

v.   intr.

  1. To speak or chatter glibly and rapidly.

  2. To mumble prayers in a mechanical manner.

v.   tr.
To utter in a glib, rapid, or mechanical manner.
n.  

  1. The jargon of a particular group; cant.

  2. Glib rapid speech, as of an auctioneer, salesperson, or comedian.

  3. Meaningless talk; chatter.


[Middle English pateren, shortening and alteration of paternoster, paternoster (from the mechanical and rapid recitation of the prayer); see paternoster.]
pat'ter·er n.
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

pat  (n.)
c.1400, "a blow, stroke," perhaps originally imitative of the sound of patting. The verb "to tap or strike lightly" is attested from 1601, and the noun "light tap with hand" is from c.1804. The noun sense "that which is formed by patting" (as in pat of butter) is 1754, probably from the verb. The nursery rhyme phrase pat-a-cake is known from 1874.

patter  (1)
"make quick taps," 1611, freq. of pat (n.).

patter  (2)
"talk rapidly," c.1400, from pater "mumble prayers rapidly" (c.1300), shortened form of paternoster (q.v.). Perhaps influenced by patter (1). The noun is first recorded 1758, originally "cant language of thieves and beggars."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: PAT
Function: abbreviation
paroxysmal atrial tachycardia
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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