English Explanatory Dictionary

pat

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  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.
verb
  1. To (gently) tap the flat of one's hand on a person or thing.
  2. To hit lightly and repeatedly with the flat of the hand to make smooth or flat
  3. To stroke or fondle (an animal). Compare pet.
  4. To gently rain.
adj
  1. Exactly suitable, fitting, apt; timely, convenient, opportune, ready for the occasion; especially of things spoken.
  2. Trite, being superficially complete, lacking originality.
adv
  1. Opportunely, in a timely or suitable way.
  2. Perfectly.
  3. Straight, right, exactly, precisely.
noun
  1. Clipping of patent.
  2. Clipping of pattern.
adj
  1. Upper-class, nobby.
name
  1. A diminutive of the female given name Patricia.
  2. A diminutive of the male given name Patrick.
noun
  1. An Irish person.
name
  1. A surname from Khmer or Yucatec Maya.
noun
  1. Initialism of point after touchdown (“extra point”).
  2. Initialism of provincial achievement test.
  3. Initialism of portable appliance testing.
  4. Initialism of port address translation.
  5. Initialism of protocol associated type.
  6. Initialism of personal access token.
  7. Initialism of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia.
  8. Initialism of priority air traffic.
name
  1. Abbreviation of Pointe-aux-Trembles: a municipality of Quebec, Canada.

Pronunciation

pǎt /pæt/ [pʰæt] [pʰæˀt̚] en-us-pat.ogg en-au-pat.ogg

Word forms

pat pats patting patted more pat most pat

Etymology

From Middle English pat (“a blow, stroke”), alteration (with loss of medial l) of *plat (> Scots plat (“a blow, buffet”)), from Old English plætt (“a sounding blow, a smack”), from Proto-West Germanic *platt (“a smack, slap, blow”), from Proto-Germanic *plat- (“to strike, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *blod-, *bled- (“to strike, beat”). Cognate with Middle Dutch plat (“a smack, blow, slap”), Middle Low German plat (“a smack, blow, beating”), Middle High German plaz, blaz (“a resounding blow, bang, crash”). For loss of l, compare patch for platch; pate for plate, etc. See plat.

Synonyms

banal bathetic bromidic cheesy clichéd commonplace corny dog-eared hackneyed hoary overdone overused overworked pat played out shopworn stale threadbare timeworn tired trite warmed-over well-worn Paddy

Related words

feel hit name strike creme pat on one's pat on the pat and mick pat-a-cake pat leave pit-pat pitty-pat

Derived words

asspat back-pat butter pat cow pat cowpat down pat headpat lovepat off pat pat hand pat on the back pat slide patter pitter-pat patball bepat pat down pattable unpatted patly patness stand pat on the Pat and Mick Pat and Mick Patty

Translations

Bulgarian: потупвам Catalan: acariciar Catalan: donar copets (a l'esquena) Catalan: passar la mà Chinese Mandarin: 拍 Esperanto: tapeti Finnish: taputtaa French: tapoter German: tippen German: tätscheln Gujarati: થાબડવું Hungarian: paskol Hungarian: lapogat Irish: slíoc Japanese: 撫でる Japanese: 摩する Māori: pōpō Māori: hokomirimiri Māori: taupaki Portuguese: dar um tapinha Russian: похло́пывать Russian: хло́пать Russian: похло́пать Scottish Gaelic: slìog Spanish: dar una palmadita Spanish: acariciar Spanish: apapachar Spanish: apapuchar Spanish: palmear Swedish: klappa
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