Nearby Words

spat

1[spat] ,noun, verb, spat·ted, spat·ting.
noun
1.
a petty quarrel.
2.
a light blow; slap; smack.
verb (used without object)
3.
to engage in a petty quarrel or dispute.
4.
to splash or spatter; rain spatting against the window.

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Spat is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
chat, to converse
verb (used with object)
5.
to strike lightly; slap.

Origin:
1795–1805, Americanism; perhaps imitative


1. tiff, scrap, set-to.

Example Sentences
  • But now researchers are putting the marital spat under the microscope to see if the way you fight with your.
  • Actually, it's probably not all that hard to produce the code that has spat out those books.
  • But this process has been stymied by an ugly spat over the procedure for raising aid.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

spat

2[spat]
verb
a simple past tense and past participle of spit1.

spat

3[spat]
noun
a short gaiter worn over the instep and usually fastened under the foot with a strap, worn especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Origin:
1795–1805; short for spatterdash

spat

4[spat]
noun
1.
the spawn of an oyster or similar shellfish.
2.
young oysters collectively.
3.
a young oyster.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English; origin uncertain

spit

1[spit] verb, spit or spat, spit·ting, noun
verb (used without object)
1.
to eject saliva from the mouth; expectorate.
2.
to express hatred, contempt, etc., by or as if by ejecting saliva from the mouth.
3.
to sputter: grease spitting on the fire.
4.
to fall in scattered drops or flakes, as rain or snow.
verb (used with object)
5.
to eject from the mouth: The children were spitting watermelon seeds over the fence.
6.
to throw out or emit like saliva: The kettle spits boiling water over the stove.
7.
to set a flame to.
noun
8.
saliva, especially when ejected.
9.
the act of spitting.
10.
Entomology. Also called spittle. the frothy secretion exuded by spittlebugs.
11.
a light fall of rain or snow.
12.
spit up, to vomit; throw up: The wounded soldier spat up blood. If you jostle the baby, she'll spit up.
13.
spit and image, Informal. exact likeness; counterpart: Hunched over his desk, pen in hand, he was the spit and image of his father at work. Also, spitting image, spit 'n' image.

Origin:
before 950; (v.) Middle English spitten, Old English spittan; cognate with German (dial.) spitzen to spit; akin to Old English spǣtan to spit, spātl spittle; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.

spit·like, adjective


3. spatter.

spit

2[spit] noun, verb, spit·ted, spit·ting.
noun
1.
a pointed rod or bar for thrusting through and holding meat that is to be cooked before or over a fire.
2.
any of various rods, pins, or the like used for particular purposes.
3.
a narrow point of land projecting into the water.
4.
a long, narrow shoal extending from the shore.
verb (used with object)
5.
to pierce, stab, or transfix, as with a spit; impale on something sharp.
6.
to thrust a spit into or through.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English spite, Old English spitu; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German spit, spet, Old High German spiz spit; akin to Old Norse spīta peg
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To spat
Collins
World English Dictionary
spat1 (spæt)
 
n
1.  rare a slap or smack
2.  a slight quarrel
 
vb , spats, spatting, spatted
3.  rare to slap (someone)
4.  (US), (Canadian), (NZ) (intr) to have a slight quarrel
 
[C19: probably imitative of the sound of quarrelling]

spat2 (spæt)
 
vb
a past tense and past participle of spit

spat3 (spæt)
 
n
another name for gaiter
 
[C19: short for spatterdash]

spat4 (spæt)
 
n
1.  a larval oyster or similar bivalve mollusc, esp when it settles to the sea bottom and starts to develop a shell
2.  such oysters or other molluscs collectively
 
[C17: from Anglo-Norman spat; perhaps related to spit1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

spat
"petty quarrel," 1804, Amer.Eng., of unknown origin; perhaps somehow imitative (cf. spat "smack, slap," attested from 1823).
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spat
"short gaiter covering the ankle," 1779, shortening of spatterdash "long gaiter to keep trousers or stockings from being spattered with mud" (1687), from spatter and dash (v.).
COLLAPSE

spit
"sharp-pointed rod on which meat is roasted," O.E. spitu, from P.Gmc. *spituz (cf. M.Du. spit, Swed. spett, O.H.G. spiz, Ger. Spieß "spit," Ger. spitz "pointed"), from PIE *spei- "sharp point" (see spike (n.1)). This is also the source of the word meaning "sandy point"
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(1670s). O.Fr. espois, Sp. espeto "spit" are Gmc. loan-words. The verb meaning "to put on a spit" is recorded from c.1200.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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