smatter

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See also: s'matter

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English smatteren, smateren. Compare Swedish smattra, Danish and Norwegian smadre (all of which mean to patter), German schmettern (“to resound”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

smatter (third-person singular simple present smatters, present participle smattering, simple past and past participle smattered)

  1. (intransitive) To talk superficially; to babble, chatter.
    • 1533, John Heywood, A Mery Play Betwene the Pardoner and the Frere‎[1], London: Wyllyam Rastell:
      What standest thou there all the day smatterynge
    • c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:
      And why, my lady wisdom? hold your tongue,
      Good prudence; smatter with your gossips, go.
    • 1733, Jonathan Swift “On Poetry” in The Poetical Works of Jonathan Swift, London: William Pickering, 1833, Volume 2, pp. 63-64,[2]
      For poets, law makes no provision;
      The wealthy have you in derision:
      Of state affairs you cannot smatter;
      Are awkward when you try to flatter;
  2. (transitive) To speak (a language) with spotty or superficial knowledge.
    • 1891, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 2, in In the South Seas‎[3], New York: Scribner, published 1896, page 9:
      The languages of Polynesia are easy to smatter, though hard to speak with elegance.
  3. (transitive, figuratively) To study or approach superficially; to dabble in.
  4. To have a slight taste, or a slight, superficial knowledge, of anything; to smack.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

smatter (plural smatters)

  1. A smattering (small number or amount).
    a smatter of applause
  2. A smattering (superficial knowledge).

Anagrams[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Deverbal from smattra.

Noun[edit]

smatter n

  1. short, sharp, quickly repeating noises, like large raindrops against a window or someone typing quickly on a typewriter, spatter

Declension[edit]

Declension of smatter 
Uncountable
Indefinite Definite
Nominative smatter smattret — —
Genitive smatters smattrets — —

References[edit]

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