Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗To (suddenly) flood or inundate (a river or other watercourse) with water. · To (suddenly) rain heavily; to pour.
A (sudden) flood or inundation of water; specifically, a flood in or overflow of a river or other watercourse due to heavy rain or melting snow; (uncountable, archaic) flooding, inundation. · A sudden heavy downpour of rain. · A sudden increase or rush of something; a flood, an outburst, an outpouring.
The noun is derived from Middle English spate, spait (“a flood”), influenced by Scots spate (“torrent of water, flood; heavy downpour of rain; (figurative) bout of drinking; large crowd of people; flood of events, words, etc.”). The further etymology of the Middle English and Scots words is uncertain; they are possibly related to English spatter and Dutch spatten (“to spatter, splash”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sp(y)ēw-, *spyū- (whence English spit (“to evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth, etc.”)), which is imitative of spitting. The verb is derived from the noun, probably influenced by Scots spate (“to flood, swell; to rain heavily; (figurative) to scold fiercely”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionspateenm
- Cognate mentionspatesco · torrent of water, flood; heavy downpour of rain; (figurative) bout of drinking; large crowd of people; flood of events, words, etc.
- Cognate mentionspatteren
- Cognate mentionspattennl · to spatter, splash
- Cognate mentionspiten · to evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth, etc.
- Cognate mentionspatesco · to flood, swell; to rain heavily; (figurative) to scold fiercely
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"To (suddenly) flood or inundate (a river or other watercourse) with water.",
"To (suddenly) rain heavily; to pour."
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