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smatter

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To speak (a language) without fluency.
  • intransitive verb To study or approach superficially; dabble in.
  • intransitive verb To prattle.
  • noun A smattering.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To make a noise. Songs and Carols (ed. Wright), No. lxxii.
  • To talk superficially or ignorantly.
  • To have a slight or superficial knowledge.
  • To talk ignorantly or superficially about; use in conversation or quote in a superficial manner.
  • To get a superficial knowledge of.
  • To taste slightly.
  • noun Slight or superficial knowledge; a smattering.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To talk superficially about.
  • transitive verb To gain a slight taste of; to acquire a slight, superficial knowledge of; to smack.
  • intransitive verb To talk superficially or ignorantly; to babble; to chatter.
  • intransitive verb To have a slight taste, or a slight, superficial knowledge, of anything; to smack.
  • noun Superficial knowledge; a smattering.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive To talk superficially; to babble.
  • verb transitive To speak (a language) with spotty or superficial knowledge.
  • verb transitive (figuratively) To study or approach superficially; to dabble in.
  • noun superficial knowledge; a smattering

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb to talk foolishly
  • verb work with in an amateurish manner
  • verb speak with spotty or superficial knowledge

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English smateren, to make dirty, speak foolishly, chatter.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English smateren. Compare Swedish smattra, Danish and Norwegian smadre (all of which mean to patter), German schmettern ("to resound").

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Examples

  • a superficial "smatter" of knowledge concerning many.

    The Girl Wanted Nixon Waterman 1901

  • Occasionally he would do a rewrite in reported speech to present a smatter of variety.

    A Small Death in the Great Glen A. D. Scott 2010

  • This should serve as a preview for the ridiculousness that Republicans are going to smatter us with this election season.

    Obama beats back criticism over head of VP search 2008

  • Beware magazine images showing squishy, sofa-style furniture – those piles of cushions have to be lugged indoors whenever there's a smatter of rain, then stored somewhere.

    Homes: Big ideas for small backyards Susie Steiner 2010

  • Shopkeepers board up their windows, plastic bags tumble across the road, a few warning drops smatter the ground foreshadowing the deluge sure to follow.

    First Rains « Cameroon 2008

  • She knew how to do things and make things and even her good looks were competent, a straightforward sort of ableness, open and clear-eyed, with a smatter of fading freckles and a dirty-minded smile.

    Underworld Don Delillo 2008

  • Several smatter also crowd the bridge keeping an eye out.

    CNN Transcript Jul 21, 2008 2008

  • She knew how to do things and make things and even her good looks were competent, a straightforward sort of ableness, open and clear-eyed, with a smatter of fading freckles and a dirty-minded smile.

    Underworld Don Delillo 2008

  • She knew how to do things and make things and even her good looks were competent, a straightforward sort of ableness, open and clear-eyed, with a smatter of fading freckles and a dirty-minded smile.

    Underworld Don Delillo 2008

  • I just smatter on as much as I want and then stoke the fire up to near heatstroke levels.

    Archive 2007-02-01 kludge 2007

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