pat

See also Pat, p3t, PAT, päť, and рат

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pæt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æt

Etymology 1

From Middle English *patten, alteration (with loss of medial l) of Middle English platten, pletten (“to pat”), from Old English plættan (“to buffet, strike, slap, smack, to give a sounding blow”), from Proto-Germanic *plat- (“to strike, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *b(e)lad-, *b(e)led- (“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
2. A light tap or slap, especially with the hands
3. A flattish lump of soft matter, especially butter or dung.
   • Charles Dickens

     It looked like a tessellated work of pats of butter.

Derived terms

• pat on the back (n.)
• patter

Translations

sound of a light slap or tap

• Finnish: taputus (fi)

• Russian: похлопывание (ru) (poxlópyvanije) n 

light tap or slap

• Finnish: taputus (fi)

• Swedish: klapp (sv) c

flattish lump of soft matter

• Finnish: nokare (fi)
• French: (of butter) motte (fr) f, (of dung) bouse (fr) f

• Jèrriais: (of butter) palette f

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.

   • 1877, Anna Sewell, Black Beauty Chapter 22[1]

     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, L. Frank Baum , The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chapter 23

     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. (Australia, New Zealand) To stroke or fondle (an animal).

   Do you want to pat the cat?

4. To gently rain.

Derived terms

• pat down
• pat on the back (v.)

Translations

to tap gently

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 拍 (cmn) (pāi)

• Finnish: taputtaa (fi)
• French: tapoter (fr)
• German: tätscheln (de)

• Japanese: 摩する (ja) (さする, sasuru), 撫でる (ja) (なでる, naderu)
• Russian: похлопывать (ru) (poxlópyvat’) , хлопать (ru) (xlópat’) , похлопать (ru) (poxlópat’) 
• Scottish Gaelic: slìog (gd)
• Swedish: klappa (sv)

to hit to make smooth or flat

• Finnish: taputtaa (fi), taputella (fi)

to gently rain

• Finnish: lopottaa (fi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: tapoter (fr)

• German: tätscheln (de)
• Telugu: తట్టు (te) (taTTu)

Adjective

pat (comparative more pat, superlative most pat)

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

   a pat expression

   • 1788, Cowper, Pity for Africans, p 18

     A story so pat, you may think it is coined.

2. trite, being superficially complete, lacking originality
   • 2010, New York Times, Editorial: Jobs and the Class of 2010, May 23.

     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.

Derived terms

• pat hand

Adverb

pat (comparative more pat, superlative most pat)

1. opportunely, in a timely or suitable way.
   • c. 1600, William Shakespeare, Hamlet III.iii

     Now might I do it pat

2. Perfectly.

   He has the routine down pat.

Derived terms

• pat in the middle

Translations

opportunely

• Finnish: sopivasti, sattuvasti, oikein (fi)

See also

strike hit

feel name

Etymology 2

Abbreviation.

Noun

pat (plural pats)

1. patent
2. (knitting) 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 […]

Anagrams

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

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Aromanian

Alternative forms

• patu, pãtsãscu

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *patiō < Latin patior. Compare Daco-Romanian păți.

Verb

pat (past participle pãtsitã)

1. I experience, undergo. (something bad, unplesant, unexpected, etc.)

Related terms

• pãtsire/pãtsiri
• pãtsit

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Bakung

Etymology

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

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Bintulu

Etymology

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

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Bunun

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Central Melanau

Central Melanau cardinal numbers

<  3	4	5  >
Cardinal : pat

Etymology

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

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Czech

Noun

pat m

1. stalemate (chess)

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French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pat/

Noun

pat m (plural pats)

1. stalemate (chess)

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Indonesian

Indonesian cardinal numbers

<  3	4	5  >
Cardinal : pat

Etymology

From Malay pat, shortened form of empat, from Proto-Malayic *əmpat, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *əmpat, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *əmpat, from Proto-Sunda-Sulawesi *əmpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. Alternative form of empat.

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Javanese

Etymology

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

Alternative forms

• papat

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Lamaholot

Etymology

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

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Lojban

Rafsi

pat

1. rafsi of pante.

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Malay

Malay cardinal numbers

<  3	4	5  >
Cardinal : pat

Etymology

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

Alternative forms

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

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pat/
• Rhymes: -pat, -at

Numeral

pat (Jawi spelling ڤت)

1. Alternative form of empat.

Descendants

Indonesian: pat

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Manggarai

Etymology

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

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Maranao

Etymology

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

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Min Nan

simpl.		捌 or 八
trad.		捌 or 八

Alternative forms

• bat to know somebody

Pronunciation

• IPA: [ pat˩˩ ]

Noun

pat (POJ, traditional and simplified 捌 or 八)

1. eight

Usage notes

• peh/poeh is used when referring to amounts, whereas pat is used for years and telephone numbers, bank account numbers etc.

Verb

pat (POJ, traditional and simplified 捌 or 八)

1. to know somebody; to recognize
2. to be familiar with

Synonyms

• trad. 認識, simpl. 认识 jīn-sek to know somebody

References

• 2000, 台灣話大詞典　(Tâi-ôan-ōe tōa-sû-tián), ISBN 9573240785:

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Old Javanese

Etymology

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

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

Descendants

Javanese: pat / papat

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Polish

Wikipedia ^pl

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

pat m

1. stalemate

Declension

    declension of pat

	singular	plural
nominative	pat	paty
genitive	patu	patów
dative	patowi	patom
accusative	pat	paty
instrumental	patem	patami
locative	pacie	patach
vocative	pacie	paty

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Puyuma

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Rejang Kayan

Etymology

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

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Rembong

Etymology

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

Numeral

pat

1. (cardinal) four

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Romanian

Etymology

Often thought to be from Greek πάτος (“path”), but also possibly from Latin pactum ("fastened, fixed, planted"), with the loss of the p in the normal result, *papt.

Noun

pat n (plural paturi)

1. bed

Declension

declension of pat

	singular		plural
gender n	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	un pat	patul	niște paturi	paturile
genitive/dative	unui pat	patului	unor paturi	paturilor

Related terms

• pătură

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Slovak

Etymology

From French pat.

Noun

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

1. a stalemate in a game of chess

Declension

    declension of pat

	singular	plural
nominative	pat	paty
genitive	patu	patov
dative	patu	patom
accusative	pat	paty
locative	pate	patoch
instrumental	patom	patmi

Derived terms

• patový -á -é

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Volapük

Etymology

French particularité

Noun

pat

1. particularity

Declension

declension of pat

	singular	plural
nominative	pat	pats
genitive	pata	patas
dative	pate	pates
accusative	pati	patis
predicative	patu	patus
vocative	o pat!	o pats!