spatter

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

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.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to scatter or splash in... splash spray sprinkle splatter bespatter speckle

Word family

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.

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# 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
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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