pat

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pæt/, , , , enPR: pǎt

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æt

Etymology 1

From Middle English *patten, alteration (with loss of medial l) of platten, pletten (“to pat”), from Old English plættan (“to buffet, strike, slap, smack, give a sounding blow”), from Proto-Germanic *plat- (“to strike, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *blod-, *bled- (“to strike, beat”). Cognate with Middle Dutch platten, pletten (“to strike, bruise, crush, rub”), German platzen (“to split, burst, break up”), Bavarian patzen (“to pat”), Swedish plätta, pjätta (“to pat, tap”). For loss of l, compare patch for platch; pate for plate, etc. See plat.

Noun

pat (plural pats)

1. The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep

   We heard a pat on the door.

2. A light tap or slap, especially with the hands

   Give Mary a pat on the shoulder to get her attention.

3. A flattish lump of soft matter, especially butter or dung.
   • 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, chapter 45, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, , published 1844, →OCLC:

     It looked like a tessellated work of pats of butter.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

pat (third-person singular simple present pats, present participle patting, simple past and past participle patted)

1. To (gently) tap the flat of one's hand on a person or thing.

   To show affection, he decided he would pat the boy on the head.

   • , Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: , London: Jarrold and Sons, , →OCLC, part II, page 103:

     He came round to each of us to pat and speak to us for the last time; his voice sounded very sad.

2. To hit lightly and repeatedly with the flat of the hand to make smooth or flat

   I patted the cookie dough into shape.

   • 1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, chapter 23, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M. Hill Co., →OCLC:

     Before they went to see Glinda, however, they were taken to a room of the Castle, where Dorothy washed her face and combed her hair, and the Lion shook the dust out of his mane, and the Scarecrow patted himself into his best shape, and the Woodman polished his tin and oiled his joints.

3. (UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) To stroke or fondle (an animal). Compare pet.

   Do you want to pat the cat?

4. To gently rain.

Derived terms

• pat down
• pat on the back (verb)

Translations

Adjective

pat (comparative more pat, superlative most pat)

1. Exactly suitable, fitting, apt; timely, convenient, opportune, ready for the occasion; especially of things spoken.

   a pat expression

   • 1788, William Cowper, Pity For Poor Africans 17–20:

     Your scruples and arguments bring to my mind a story so pat, you may think it is coin’d, on purpose to answer you, out of my mint; but, I can assure you, I saw it in print.

   • 1862, John Williamson Palmer, Stonewall Jackson's Way :

     Come, stack arms, Men! Pile on the rails; stir up the campfire bright; no matter if the canteen fails, we'll make a roaring night. Here Shenandoah brawls along, there burly Blue Ridge echoes strong, to swell the Brigade's rousing song, of “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.”
     We see him now — the old slouched hat cocked o’er his eye askew, the shrewd, dry smile, the speech so pat, so calm, so blunt, so true.

2. Trite, being superficially complete, lacking originality.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hackneyed

   • 1987 August 15, Laurie Sherman, “What's A Dyke To Do? A Lesbian Reluctantly Enters The Age Of Safe Sex”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 5, page 11:

     While most AIDS activists and researchers I spoke with agreed I shouldn't offer pat safe/unsafe categories, let me share some pretty widely accepted information.

   • 2010 May 22, “Jobs and the Class of 2010”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     The pat answer is that college students should consider graduate school as a way to delay a job search until things turn around, and that more high school students should go to college to improve their prospects.

   • 2021 July 14, A. A. Dowd, “Space Jam: A New Legacy is one big, witless commercial for Warner Bros properties”, in The A.V. Club‎:

     Space Jam: A New Legacy takes almost nothing but wrong turns, all leading to a glittering CGI trash heap of cameos, pat life lessons, and stale internet catchphrases.

   • 2021, Kate Crawford, chapter 2, in Atlas of AI , →ISBN:

     Pat responses from management seemed to be multiple variations on the theme of “We value your feedback.”

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

pat (comparative more pat, superlative most pat)

1. Opportunely, in a timely or suitable way.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Now might I do it pat

2. Perfectly.

   He has the routine down pat.

   • 1922 September 22, “At the Wauwatosa Table”, in City Club News, volume viii, number 2, Milwaukee, page 7:

     Wauwa Pease says of the strategic position of the Pirates in the dining room: “They have taken the table near the upper doorway so they can make a speedy exit in case their lair is raided.” Of course, the Wauwas stand pat in the middle of the dining room, having nothing to fear.

   • 1962, Newsweek:

     Candidates in gubernatorial campaigns must stand pat in the middle, trying to push their rivals off the center line, charging the opponent with either left or right extremism.

   • 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa, A Month and a Day, page 112:

     In Ogoni[land], Shell locations lie pat in the middle of villages, in front and back gardens – and that should lay a particular responsibility on Shell to be absolutely cautious in its operations.

Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Noun

pat (plural pats)

1. Clipping of patent.
2. (knitting) Clipping of pattern.
   • 2012, Kari Cornell, Knitting Sweaters from around the World, page 52:

     Work in pat to next underarm marker, sm, place next st on holder […]

Etymology 3

Clipping of patrician.

Adjective

pat (comparative more pat, superlative most pat)

1. (slang) Upper-class, nobby.

See also

Further reading

• “pat”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “pat”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “pat”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• Jonathon Green (2024) “pat adj.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Anagrams

• APT, ATP, PTA, TAP, TPA, ap't, apt, apt., tap

Albanian

Alternative forms

• patur
• pasë
• pasur

Etymology

Alternative variant of participles patur, pasë, pasur. See pata (“I had”) (aorist form of kam (“I have”)) for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pat/ (Gheg, Arbëreshë)

Participle

pat

1. participle of kam (present)
2. participle of pata (aorist)

Related terms

• pasuri
• kam
• pata

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• patu
• pãtsãscu

Etymology

From Latin patior. Compare Daco-Romanian păți.

Verb

pat first-singular present indicative (past participle pãtsitã)

1. to experience, undergo (something bad, unpleasant, unexpected, etc.)

Related terms

• pãtsiri / pãtsire
• pãtsit

Bakung

Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Bariai

Noun

pat

1. stone

References

• Steve Gallagher, Peirce Baehr, Bariai Grammar Sketch (2005)

Belait

Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Bintulu

Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Bunun

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Central Melanau

Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Chinese

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Classifier

pat

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) Alternative form of 坺 (pet6)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

pat

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) Alternative form of 噼 (pet1)

Chuj

Noun

pat

1. house

Chuukese

Adjective

pat

1. cold

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Etymology 1

Via German Patt and French pat, from Italian patta.

Noun

pat m inan

1. (chess) stalemate
2. stalemate (blocked situation)

Declension

Etymology 2

Noun

pat f

1. genitive plural of pata

References

Further reading

• pat in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• pat in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pat/,

Noun

pat c

1. stalemate
2. alternative form of patte (“teat”)

Verb

pat

1. imperative of patte (“to suck”)

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɑt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pat
• Rhymes: -ɑt

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French pat, from Italian patta.

Noun

pat n (uncountable)

1. (chess) tie, draw, stalemate

Derived terms

• patstelling

Etymology 2

Noun

pat c (plural patten, diminutive patje n)

1. (cycling) The slot in the frame that accepts the axle of the wheel; dropout.

Eskayan

Numeral

pat

1. four

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian patta (“tie, draw”), influenced by mat (“mate”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pat/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

pat m (plural pats)

1. (chess) stalemate

Descendants

• → German: Patt
• → Greek: πατ (pat)
• → Polish: pat
• → Serbo-Croatian: pat
• → Slovak: pat

Further reading

• “pat”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Haitian Creole

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pat/

Etymology 1

From French pâte.

Noun

pat

1. dough
2. paste
3. shoe polish
4. toothpaste

Etymology 2

Contraction

pat

1. Contraction of pa te.

   Li pat di m sa. ― She didn't tell me that.

References

• Targète, Jean and Urciolo, Raphael G. Haitian Creole-English dictionary (1993; →ISBN)

Hokkien

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʰaːt/
• Rhymes: -aːt

Noun

pat n (genitive singular pats, no plural)

1. gesticulation, gesture

Declension

Related terms

• pata

Anagrams

• apt
• tap

Indonesian

Numeral

pat

1. Clipping of empat.

Javanese

Alternative forms

• papat

Etymology

From Old Javanese pat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Krio

Etymology

From English part.

Noun

pat

1. part

Lamaholot

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Latin

Verb

pāt

1. third-person singular perfect active indicative of pāscō

Latvian

Particle

pat

1. even

Lithuanian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Particle

pàt (indeclinable)

1. very, right (to emphasize location)

   čia pat ― right here

   iš pat dugno ― from the very bottom

2. very, right (to emphasize time)

   dabar pat ― right now

   iki pat saulėlydžio ― right until sunset

3. very, same (to emphasize sameness)

   tas pat žmogus ― the very person

   tokia pat spalva ― the same color (literally, “just such a color”)

References

Further reading

• “pat”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2024
• “pat”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2024

Livonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *patto. Cognates include Estonian patt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɑt/

Noun

pat

1. sin

References

• Lauri Kettunen (1938) Livisches Wörterbuch mit grammatischer Einleitung, Helsinki, page 277

Maguindanao

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Maia

Noun

pat

1. stone

Malay

Alternative forms

• empat
• ĕmpat
• ampat
• ămpat
• امڤت
• ڤت

Etymology

Shortened form of empat, from Proto-Malayic *əmpat, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *əmpat, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *əmpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pat/
• Rhymes: -pat, -at

Numeral

pat (Jawi spelling ڤت)

1. Alternative form of empat

Descendants

Manggarai

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Maranao

Etymology

Akin to Maguindanao upat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Marshallese

Etymology

From Proto-Micronesian *pasa, from Proto-Oceanic *basa, an alternative form of Proto-Oceanic *pasa.

Pronunciation

• (phonetic) IPA^(key):
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /pʲætˠ/
• Bender phonemes: {pat}

Noun

pat

1. swamp

References

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

Murik (New Guinea)

Numeral

pat

1. four

Old Javanese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Descendants

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

pat

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Borrowed from French pat, from Italian patta, probably from Latin pacta, plural of pactum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pat/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at
• Syllabification: pat
• Homophone: pad

Noun

pat m animal (diminutive pacik)

1. (chess) stalemate
2. (figuratively, by extension) stalemate (any situation that has no obvious possible movement, but does not involve any personal loss)

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• pat in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• pat in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Puyuma

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Rejang Kayan

Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Rembong

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. four

Romanian

Etymology

Often thought to be from Greek πάτος (pátos, “path”), but also possibly from Latin pactum (“fastened, fixed, planted”), with the loss of the -p- in the normal result, *papt, explicable through dissimilation from the initial consonant; compare păta, boteza.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpat/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

pat n (plural paturi)

1. bed

Declension

Related terms

• pătură

References

References

• pat in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from French pat.

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

pat m (Cyrillic spelling пат)

1. (chess) stalemate

Declension

Slovak

Etymology

Borrowed from French pat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpat/

Noun

pat m inan (genitive singular patu, nominative plural paty, genitive plural patov, declension pattern of dub)

1. (chess) stalemate

Declension

Derived terms

• patový

Further reading

• “pat”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024

Toba Batak

Noun

pat

1. foot

References

• Warneck, J. (1906). Tobabataksch-Deutsches Wörterbuch. Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, p. 146.

Tocharian B

Etymology

From Sanskrit बुद्ध (buddha)

Noun

pat

1. stupa

Volapük

Etymology

From French particularité.

Noun

pat (nominative plural pats)

1. particularity

Declension

Yucatec Maya

Noun

pat

1. school shark

Zou

Noun

pat

1. cotton

References

• http://www.languageinindia.com/feb2013/zouphonologyfinal.pdf