SMATTER
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:56 am
• smatter •
Pronunciation: smæ-dêr • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Verb, transitive
Meaning: To engage in marginally or to a small degree; to trifle or piddle with; to dabble in some area of knowledge.
Notes: Today's Good Word is far less common than its derivatives, smatterer "a dabbler", and smattering "a small amount". However, the verb underlying these two words is still out there, ready and waiting to be used in ways the next section will demonstrate. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, smatter is confused with splatter in the US, as in "smattered with mud", and the like. I would never say anything like that and if I can keep the two words discrete, anyone can.
In Play: Remember that today's Good Word is transitive: it does not require a preposition as do piddle (with) and dabble (in): "Luke Warme is less a Renaissance Man than a person who smatters many things, mastering none." Dabbling in languages is closely associated with today's Good Word: "Lucille smatters French so poorly that she ordered a bowl of soup in Paris and was told that the restaurant didn't have bowling balls."
Word History: No one has been able to put together a history of today's Good Word. It can be traced only back to Middle English smateren "to make noise, talk idly". We do find similar forms in other Germanic languages like Swedish smattra "to patter, crackle, rattle" and German schmettern "blare out", but connections with these words are dubious at best. In Scottish dialects we find a verb smatter "to smash", but, again, the semantic differences between this word and today's Good Word are too great to establish a relationship.
Pronunciation: smæ-dêr • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Verb, transitive
Meaning: To engage in marginally or to a small degree; to trifle or piddle with; to dabble in some area of knowledge.
Notes: Today's Good Word is far less common than its derivatives, smatterer "a dabbler", and smattering "a small amount". However, the verb underlying these two words is still out there, ready and waiting to be used in ways the next section will demonstrate. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, smatter is confused with splatter in the US, as in "smattered with mud", and the like. I would never say anything like that and if I can keep the two words discrete, anyone can.
In Play: Remember that today's Good Word is transitive: it does not require a preposition as do piddle (with) and dabble (in): "Luke Warme is less a Renaissance Man than a person who smatters many things, mastering none." Dabbling in languages is closely associated with today's Good Word: "Lucille smatters French so poorly that she ordered a bowl of soup in Paris and was told that the restaurant didn't have bowling balls."
Word History: No one has been able to put together a history of today's Good Word. It can be traced only back to Middle English smateren "to make noise, talk idly". We do find similar forms in other Germanic languages like Swedish smattra "to patter, crackle, rattle" and German schmettern "blare out", but connections with these words are dubious at best. In Scottish dialects we find a verb smatter "to smash", but, again, the semantic differences between this word and today's Good Word are too great to establish a relationship.