spat

spat¹ spawn of oysters

Etymology

The word for the spawn of shellfish is borrowed from Anglo-Norman spat,^[4][5][1][6] recorded in Anglo-Norman from 1377 for the spawn of oysters;^[7] the Anglo-Norman word is of unknown origin.^[4][1][6] The OED calls the English word of obscure origin, perhaps related to spit, to eject from the mouth,^[8] and Merriam-Webster gives its origin as unknown.^[9] Etymonline suggests the past tense of spit and notes that the Century Dictionary compared Dutch spat (“a speck, spot”).^[2] Weekley also thought it related to spit,^[10] and Klein took it as a blend of spit and spatter.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The eggs of bees, a sense recorded only from 1634 to 1657, first in J. Levett's Ordering of Bees;^[8][5] the spawn of oysters and other shellfish from 1667, in T. Sprat's History of the Royal-Society.^[8][9] Etymonline dates the oyster sense to the 1660s.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb, formed from the noun, followed the same path: of bees, to breed (1634), and of oysters, to spawn (1667).^[8][5] The OED thinks that its use as a past participle in 1667 is due to association with spit.^[8] Johnson (1755) defined the noun as the young shellfish, quoting Woodward on fossils.^[12] In modern use the noun means a young oyster or other bivalve before or after it settles, and the verb also its attaching itself to a solid surface;^[9] the settling of the larvae is called spatfall.^[5]

Timeline

• 1634 – the eggs of bees (obsolete by 1657); verb, of bees, to breed.^[8]
• 1667 – the spawn of oysters and other shellfish; verb, of oysters, to spawn.^[8][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The spawn or young of oysters and other bivalve molluscs: The spat settled on the old shells in the bay.^[9][5][8]
2. A single young oyster or bivalve.^[9][2]
3. (obsolete, 1634–1657) The eggs of bees.^[8][5]

Verb

1. Of oysters, to release spawn.^[9][8][5]
2. Of a young mollusc, to attach itself permanently to a solid surface.^[9]

spat² short gaiter

Etymology

The word for the gaiter is a clipping of spatterdash,^{[13][2][8][9][5][4][1]} a long legging worn to keep trousers or stockings from being spattered with mud, especially when riding, recorded from 1687.^[13][8][5] That word was formed from spatter and dash, in its now archaic sense "to splash violently".^[1][8][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

A short gaiter covering the instep and ankle: 1779, in the plural form spatts, according to Barnhart.^[13][2] The OED's first record is from 1802, in C. James's New Military Dictionary,^[8] and Merriam-Webster also dates it to about 1802.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The word has nearly always been used in the plural, of a pair of short gaiters fastened with a strap under the foot,^[8][9] while the longer spatterdash became a historical word.^[5] In 19th-century Scotland and northern and southern England spat was also used for a gaiter or legging in general.^[14] From 1931 the name was transferred to a streamlined cover over the wheel of an aircraft with fixed landing gear.^[8][5][9]

Timeline

• 1687 – spatterdash, a long gaiter.^[8][13]
• 1779 – spatts, short gaiters.^[13][2] The OED's first record of the short form is from 1802.^[8]
• 1931 – a streamlined cover over the wheel of an aircraft.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A short cloth or leather gaiter covering the instep and ankle, fastened with a strap under the shoe; usually in the plural: He wore grey spats over his polished shoes.^[9][8][5]
2. (aeronautics) A streamlined fairing over the wheel of an aircraft with fixed landing gear.^[9][8][5]

spat³ petty quarrel

Etymology

The petty quarrel, first recorded in American English, is probably imitative,^{[8][5][9][15]} and Collins takes it as imitating the sound of quarrelling.^[16] Barnhart, Etymonline and Ayto call it of unknown origin,^[13][2][1] and Barnhart remarks that it is sometimes called imitative without any indication of what it imitates.^[13] Etymonline compares the dialect noun meaning a smack or slap, attested from 1823.^[2] The verb is probably from the noun.^[13][15]

Earliest recorded meaning

A tiff or petty quarrel: 1804, in the Boston Repertory, of a quarrel between Pitt and Pulteney.^[8][15][13] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1795–1805 and marks it as an Americanism.^[17]

Semantic evolution

The verb to spat, to quarrel, is recorded in American English from 1809, as spat up;^[8][15][13] Webster (1828) defined the noun as a petty combat or little quarrel and called it a vulgar use.^[15] From 1823 the noun also meant a smart blow or slap, a sense Merriam-Webster dates to 1729 and labels chiefly dialectal.^[8][9] The sense of a sharp smacking sound followed in 1881.^[8] The verb likewise came to mean to clap or slap (about 1832) and to strike sharply or spatter (1868).^[8] In the 19th century spat for a slight blow, slap or pat was used from Scotland and Cumberland to Kent and Hampshire, and in America.^[14] Merriam-Webster also includes a light splash in this word,^[9] while the OED and the Shorter Oxford treat that sense (1876) as apparently borrowed from Dutch spat in the same sense.^[8][5]

Timeline

• 1804 – a tiff, a petty quarrel (originally American).^[8][13][15]
• 1809 – verb, to quarrel (American).^[8][13][15]
• 1823 – a smart blow, a slap.^[8] Merriam-Webster dates this sense to 1729.^[9]
• c. 1832 – verb, to clap or slap.^[8][9]
• 1868 – verb, to strike sharply, to spatter, in L. M. Alcott's Little Women.^[8]
• 1881 – a sharp smacking sound.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A brief, petty quarrel; a tiff: The neighbours had a spat over the hedge.^{[9][16][8][5]}
2. (chiefly dialectal) A quick, sharp blow; a slap.^[9][16][8]
3. A light splash, or a sound like large raindrops striking something: the spat of hail on the roof.^[9]

Verb

1. To quarrel briefly over small matters: The twins spatted constantly over the remote control.^[9][16][5]
2. (chiefly dialectal) To slap; to clap the hands together.^[9][5][8]
3. To strike, or fall, with a sound like large raindrops: Hailstones spatted against the glass.^[9][8]