smatter
English · Thesaurus
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smatter
- /ˈsmætə/ UK
- /ˈsmætəɹ/ Canada, US
- [-ɾəɹ] Canada, US
- /ˈsmætə/ Australia
- [-ɾə] Australia
- /ˈsmɛtə/ New Zealand
- [-ɾə] New Zealand
Rhymes with -ætə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English smateren, smatteren, smater, smatere (“to make dirty, defile; to talk idly, chatter; to speak foolishly”); further etymology uncertain, compare the following:
* Middle English smotten (“to corrupt, debase, defile”) (whence English smot (obsolete)), related to Late Middle High German smotzen, a variant of smutzen (whence modern German schmutzen (“to become dirty or soiled; to make dirty, soil”)), from smuz (“dirt”).
* Danish smadre (“to smash”), German schmettern (“to smash; to resound”) (from Middle High German smetern (“to chatter; to rattle; (dialectal) to make a smacking sound”)); Norwegian Bokmål smadre (“to smash”), Swedish smattra (“to make short, sharp, quickly repeating noises, patter, rattle”), possibly originally onomatopoeic. However, the Oxford English Dictionary says “real connection is very doubtful”.
The noun is derived from the verb.
verb smatters · smattering · smattered · smatter
-
To make (someone or something) dirty; to bespatter, to soil.
To ſay the Ieſuites are all ſmattred vvith Atheiſme, I vvill not: and to ſay, that any of them all are abſolutely ſcotfree from it, I cannot: it is ſo repugnant from their ovvne principles.
Similar: assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, imbrue (especially with blood), bedizen, befile, befilth, befoul, begrime, beray, beshit
- To hit (someone or something) with a liquid; to splash, to spatter.
- To approach or study (something, such as a subject) superficially; to dabble in. I have smattered law, smattered letters, smattered geography, smattered mathematics; I have even a working knowledge of judicial astrology; and here I stand, all London roaring by at the street's end, as impotent as any baby.
- To speak (a language or words) with only a superficial knowledge of it. The Barber ſmatters latin, I remember.
- To hit with a liquid; to splash, to spatter.
- To have a slight, superficial knowledge of something; to dabble. He ſmattereth a lytell of the lawe: […]
- To talk ignorantly or superficially; to babble, to chatter. How Cownterfet Cowntenaunce of the new get / With Crafty Conueyauance dothe smater and flater, / And Cloked Collucyoun is brought in to clater / With Courtely Abusyoun; […]
noun smatters
- A shallow or superficial knowledge of a subject. [A]ll other Sciences, they vvere in a manner extinguiſh'd during the Courſe of this Empire, excepting only a Smatter of Judicial Aſtrology, by vvhich, under the Name of Chaldeans, ſome of that Race long amazed ignorant and credulous People.
- A small amount or number of something. a smatter of applause
Translations
Every language
verb (transitive) to approach or study (something) superficially; (intransitive) to have a slight, superficial knowledge of something — see also dabble
| Deutsch | dilettieren, versuchen (an etwas) |
|---|
verb (transitive) to speak (a language or words) with only a superficial knowledge of it
| Español | chapurrar, chapurrear |
|---|---|
| Português | arranhar |
| Français | baragouiner |
| Deutsch | radebrechen, gebrochen sprechen |
| Italiano | masticare |
| Русский | кове́ркать kovérkatʹ |
| العربية | لَحَنَ laḥana |
Talk about this word "smatter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/smatter. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. smatter. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/smatter "smatter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/smatter.Cite this
@misc{smatter_2026,
title = {smatter},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/smatter},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
