chat English · revision 4383

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=a. 1450}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tʃæt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a Middle English shortening of [[chatter]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) which is itself imitative of the sound of people talking.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “To talk idly, babble”: before 1450 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Hoad dates “to chatter” to the 14th–15th centuries.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To converse easily and familiarly” is from the 1550s,^(Etymonline) the 16th century in Hoad.^(Hoad 1986) The noun, idle talk or chatter, is from 1530, in the works of Sir Thomas More,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and familiar conversation from 1573.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Chatty'' is from before 1762.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Chat up'', to flirt with, is from 1898.^(Etymonline) The British ''chat show'', the American talk show, is from 1967,^(Etymonline) and the online ''chat room'' from 1994.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1450 – to babble.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – noun, chatter.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1550s – to converse familiarly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1573 – noun, familiar talk.^(OED 1989)

+ * a. 1762 – ''chatty''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1898 – to chat up.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1967 – ''chat show''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1994 – ''chat room''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To talk in a light, easy and informal way.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To exchange messages online in real time.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British, informal)'' ''chat up'': to talk flirtatiously to.^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A light, [[informal]] [[conversation]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An online exchange of messages, as in a chat room.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[backchat]]

+ * [[chatterer]]

+ * [[chatty]]

+ * [[chitchat]]

+ * [[chat show]]

+ * [[fireside chat]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chatter]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Chat is also the name of several birds with chattering calls, from the 1690s, probably imitative of the call,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) and in dialect a catkin, from French chatte “female cat”.^(MWU 2024)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}