Spat

See also: Appendix:Variations of "spat"

German

Alternative forms

• Spath (obsolete), Spatt (obsolete, chiefly etymology 2)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃpaːt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːt
• Homophone: spart (some speakers)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German spāt (less often also spăt, possibly by confusion with etymology 2 below). There are no known cognates, but probably related to Span (“shaving, clipping”).

Noun

Spat m (strong, genitive Spates or Spats, plural Spate or (dated) Späte)

1. (geology) spar
2. (mathematics) parallelepiped

Declension

Declension of Spat [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Spat	die	Spate, Späte
genitive	eines	des	Spates, Spats	der	Spate, Späte
dative	einem	dem	Spat, Spate1	den	Spaten, Späten
accusative	einen	den	Spat	die	Spate, Späte

¹Now rare, see notes.

Hyponyms

• Eisenspat
• Feldspat
• Flussspat
• Kalkspat
• Zinkspat

Derived terms

• spatig

Descendants

• → Dutch: spaat
• → French: spath
• → Italian: spato
• → Polish: szpat (“spar”)
• → Russian: шпат (špat)
• → Spanish: espato

Etymology 2

From Middle High German spat. Cognate with Dutch spat, Middle Low German spat (whence Swedish spatt etc.). Further origin unknown. Relation with the Romance word in English spavin is dubious. Has also been compared to Ancient Greek σπαδών (spadṓn, “spasm”).

Noun

Spat m (strong, genitive Spates or Spats, no plural)

1. (equestrianism, veterinary medicine) spavin (horse disease caused by an ulcer in the leg)

Declension

Declension of Spat [sg-only, masculine, strong]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Spat
genitive	eines	des	Spates, Spats
dative	einem	dem	Spat, Spate1
accusative	einen	den	Spat

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• spatig

Descendants

• → Polish: szpat (“spavin”)
• → Russian: шпат (špat)

Further reading

• “Spat” in Duden online
• “Spat” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Spat” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.