spatter C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈspætɚ/ UK /ˈspætə/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to scatter or splash in small drops Hot oil began to spatter as she dropped the fish into the pan. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to scatter or splash in... splashspraysprinklesplatterbespatterspeckle Word family Derived forms spattering Related forms splattersputter Etymology AI details A frequentative formation, probably from a Low German or Dutch base (cf. Dutch and Low German spatten 'to burst, spatter'), of imitative origin. Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # spatter **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈspætɚ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈspætə/ ## Meanings 1. to scatter or splash in small drops ## Examples - Hot oil began to spatter as she dropped the fish into the pan. ## Synonyms - splash - spray - sprinkle - splatter - bespatter - speckle ## Derived Forms - spattering ## Related Forms - splatter - sputter ## Etymology A frequentative formation, probably from a Low German or Dutch base (cf. Dutch and Low German spatten 'to burst, spatter'), of imitative origin. ## AI Etymology Spatter is a frequentative formation, probably from a Low German or Dutch base (cf. Dutch and Low German spatten 'to burst, spatter'), of imitative origin. The quoted older sense, "to burst, spatter," supplies the immediate semantic anchor for spatter. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word spatter carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a verb, "to scatter or splash in small drops". English derivatives include spattering; related English forms include splatter and sputter. The result is a verb and noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown