smatter

[ smat-er ]

verb (used with object)

1. to speak (a language, words, etc.) with superficial knowledge or understanding.
2. to dabble in.

noun

1. a slight or superficial knowledge; smattering:

   She gets by with only a smatter of musical knowledge.

2. a small amount or number; smattering:

   a smatter of applause; smatters of nervous laughter.

smatter

/ ˈsmætə /

noun

1. a smattering

verb

1. rare.
   intr to prattle
2. archaic.
   tr to dabble in

Derived Forms

• ˈsmatterer, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of smatter¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Scandinavian; Danish, Norwegian smadre “to splash, smash (to pieces),” Swedish smattra “to clatter, rattle” ( Middle Low German smetern “to chatter”), but the semantic development is unclear

Word History and Origins

Origin of smatter¹

C14 (in the sense: to prattle): of uncertain origin; compare Middle High German smetern to gossip

Example Sentences

Hundreds of yellow handprints smatter the walls of Severna Park’s dugout.

From Washington Post

He landed on the floor and scrambled for the revolver, a smatter of blood streaming in his wake.

From Literature

I am thinking about James and remembering being in Italy last summer, watching the lights across the valley in Assisi coming on in a dotted dance as the sun went down, a smatter of earthly stars.

From New York Times

Outside a car wash where two people died, a smatter of small bloodstains can still be seen on the white exterior wall.

From Seattle Times

Some later artists revive keynotes of the epoch—Joan Snyder with a lively smatter of drifting brushwork, from 1971, and, recently, Mark Bradford with grand splurges of jittery marks—at a cost of inviting comparison with their powerful precedents.

From The New Yorker

Related Words

• several
• some