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chatter

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chatter¹

  • /ˈtʃætə/ UK
  • /ˈt͡ʃætɚ/ US

Rhymes with -ætə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Middle English cheteren, chiteren (Imitative)der.

Middle English chateren

English chatter

From Middle English chateren, from earlier cheteren, chiteren (“to twitter, chatter, jabber”), of imitative origin. Compare Saterland Frisian tjoaterje (“to chatter”), West Frisian tsjotterje (“to chatter”), Dutch schateren, schetteren (“chatter”), Dutch koeteren (“jabber”), Middle Low German kidderen (“to chatter”), German Low German queteln (“to chatter”), dialectal German kaudern (“to gobble (like a turkey)”), Danish kvidre (“to twitter, chirp”).

noun chatters

  1. uncountable, usually Talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk. Although hardly coming under my theme, I cannot omit this: "Against a woman's chatter: Taste at night fasting a root of radish, that day the chatter cannot harm thee."
  2. uncountable, usually The sound of talking.
  3. uncountable, usually The vocalisations of a Eurasian magpie, Pica pica.
  4. uncountable, usually The vocalisations of various birds or other animals. The hare cried and complained of the terrible February cold and the disgusting chatter of the owls[.]
  5. uncountable, usually An intermittent noise, as from vibration. Proper brake adjustment will help to reduce the chatter.
  6. uncountable, usually In national security, the degree of communication between suspect groups and individuals, used to gauge the degree of expected terrorist activity. The NSA is concerned about increased chatter between known terror groups.
  7. uncountable, usually The situation where a drill or similar tool vibrates and tears the material rather than cutting it cleanly.
  8. collective, countable, usually A group of songbirds. There was a lark in the sky, a chatter of rooks, and the swoop of swallows arrived to-day.

Similar: babble, bavardage, bibble-babble, blab, blabber, blabbing, blather, blathering, chatter, chinwag, chit-chat, claver

verb chatters · chattering · chattered

  1. intransitive To talk idly. They knitted and chattered the whole time.
  2. intransitive, usually To make a noise by rapid collisions. He was so cold that his teeth were chattering.
  3. To utter sounds which somewhat resemble language, but are inarticulate and indistinct. The jay makes answer, as the magpie chatters with delight.

chatter²

  • /ˈtʃætə/ UK
  • /ˈt͡ʃætɚ/ US

Rhymes with -ætə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

English chat

Proto-Indo-European *-yósder.

Proto-Italic *-āzios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -āriusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -ere

English -er

English chatter

From chat + -er.

noun chatters

  1. One who chats.
  2. Internet A user of livestream chat.
  3. Internet A user of chat rooms. During the chat sessions, two outreach team members would engage in a conversation about the topic chosen for that event in the main chat room and entice other chatters to join in.

Similar: babble, bavardage, bibble-babble, blab, blabber, blabbing, blather, blathering, chatter, chinwag, chit-chat, claver

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