Platt

See also: platt and plätt

English

Etymology 1

German Platt, Low German Platt or Clipping of Plattdeutsch

Proper noun

Platt

1. (rare) Plattdeutsch, Low German
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:Platt.

Etymology 2

Proper noun

Platt

1. A village in Kent, England.

Etymology 3

English habitational surname from Platt Bridge, from Old French plat (“footbridge”).

Proper noun

Platt

1. A surname.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Platt”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• ALTTP

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Central Franconian

Etymology

Cognate to German Platt n.

Noun

Platt n

1. (Ripuarian) dialect
   • 1986, Hermann Josef Ersfeld, Vam alen Eitorfer Platt wi et der Urjroßvatter jeschwatt het. Eine Pilotstudie zu Josef Ersfelds Totalerfassung des Eitorfer Alt-Dialekts (Schriftenreihe des Heimatvereins Eitorf 1):

     Vam alen Eitorfer Platt wi et der Urjroßvatter jeschwatt het

     Of the old Platt from Eitorf how the great-grandfather has spoken it

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German

Etymology

Ultimately the same as platt (“flat”), although the motivation seems not to be quite clear; possibly the geographically low areas of Germany as in Niederdeutsch (“Low German”), or else “not elevated, ordinary, simple” speech. Cognate to Dutch plat n (“dialect”), Central Franconian Platt (“dialect”) (Ripuarian), Low German Platt n (“Low German”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plat/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at

Noun

Platt n (strong, genitive Platt or Platts, no plural)

1. Low German
2. (regional, chiefly northern and central Germany) a dialect (regional language), usually a German (or Dutch) one

   Das Platt, das hier gesprochen wird, verstehe ich schlecht.

   I have trouble understanding the dialect spoken around here.

Declension

Declension of Platt [sg-only, neuter, strong]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Platt
genitive	eines	des	Platt, Platts
dative	einem	dem	Platt
accusative	ein	das	Platt

Usage notes

Most often, Platt is understood to be Low German, because the term Plattdeutsch refers to Low German. However, many West Central German dialects (e.g. in Aachen, Bonn, or Koblenz) are also referred to as Platt (but not as Plattdeutsch).

Synonyms

• (Low German language): Plattdeutsch
• (dialect): Dialekt, Mundart

Related terms

• Plattdeutsch

Further reading

• “Platt” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Platt” in Duden online

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Low German

Etymology

Cognate to German Platt n.

Noun

Platt n

1. Low German

   up Platt (op Platt) ― in Low German

   Platt snacken (Platt schnacken; cp. platt snacken, platt schnacken), Platt spräken ― to speak Low German

Related terms

• Plattdütsch