# pat
## English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pæt/, [pʰæt], [pʰæt̚], [pʰæˀt̚], enPR: pǎt
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -æt

### Etymology 1

From Middle English *patten, alteration (with loss of medial l) of platten, pletten (“to pat”), from Old English plættan (“to buffet, strike, slap, smack, give a sounding blow”), from Proto-Germanic *plat- (“to strike, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *blod-, *bled- (“to strike, beat”). Cognate with Middle Dutch platten, pletten (“to strike, bruise, crush, rub”), German platzen (“to split, burst, break up”), Bavarian patzen (“to pat”), Swedish plätta, pjätta (“to pat, tap”). For loss of l, compare patch for platch; pate for plate, etc. See plat.

#### Noun

pat (plural pats)
* The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep.
    We heard a pat on the door.
* A light tap or slap, especially with the hands.
    Give Mary a pat on the shoulder to get her attention.
* A flattish lump of soft matter, especially butter or dung.
** 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, chapter 45, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:It looked like a tessellated work of pats of butter.

##### Derived terms

* asspat
* back-pat
* butter pat
* cow pat
* down pat
* headpat
* off pat
* pat hand
* pat on the back (noun)
* pat slide
* patter
* pitter-pat

##### Translations
#### Verb

pat (third-person singular simple present pats, present participle patting, simple past and past participle patted)
* To (gently) tap the flat of one's hand on a person or thing.
    To show affection, he decided he would pat the boy on the head.
** [1877], Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 103:He came round to each of us to pat and speak to us for the last time; his voice sounded very sad.
* To hit lightly and repeatedly with the flat of the hand to make smooth or flat
    I patted the cookie dough into shape.
** 1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, chapter 23, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC:Before they went to see Glinda, however, they were taken to a room of the Castle, where Dorothy washed her face and combed her hair, and the Lion shook the dust out of his mane, and the Scarecrow patted himself into his best shape, and the Woodman polished his tin and oiled his joints.
* (UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) To stroke or fondle (an animal). Compare pet.
    Do you want to pat the cat?
* To gently rain.

##### Derived terms

* pat down
* pat on the back (verb)

##### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

#### Adjective

pat (comparative more pat, superlative most pat)
* Exactly suitable, fitting, apt; timely, convenient, opportune, ready for the occasion; especially of things spoken.
    a pat expression
** 1788, William Cowper, Pity For Poor Africans 17–20:Your scruples and arguments bring to my mind a story so pat, you may think it is coin’d, on purpose to answer you, out of my mint; but, I can assure you, I saw it in print.
** 1862, John Williamson Palmer, Stonewall Jackson's Way :Come, stack arms, Men! Pile on the rails; stir up the campfire bright; no matter if the canteen fails, we'll make a roaring night. Here Shenandoah brawls along, there burly Blue Ridge echoes strong, to swell the Brigade's rousing song, of “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.” We see him now — the old slouched hat cocked o’er his eye askew, the shrewd, dry smile, the speech so pat, so calm, so blunt, so true.
* Trite, being superficially complete, lacking originality.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hackneyed
** 1987 August 15, Laurie Sherman, “What's A Dyke To Do? A Lesbian Reluctantly Enters The Age Of Safe Sex”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 5, page 11:While most AIDS activists and researchers I spoke with agreed I shouldn't offer pat safe/unsafe categories, let me share some pretty widely accepted information.
** 2010 May 22, “Jobs and the Class of 2010”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:The pat answer is that college students should consider graduate school as a way to delay a job search until things turn around, and that more high school students should go to college to improve their prospects.
** 2021 July 14, A. A. Dowd, “Space Jam: A New Legacy is one big, witless commercial for Warner Bros properties”, in The A.V. Club‎:Space Jam: A New Legacy takes almost nothing but wrong turns, all leading to a glittering CGI trash heap of cameos, pat life lessons, and stale internet catchphrases.
** 2021, Kate Crawford, chapter 2, in Atlas of AI […] , →ISBN:Pat responses from management seemed to be multiple variations on the theme of “We value your feedback.”

##### Derived terms

* stand pat

##### Translations
#### Adverb

pat (comparative more pat, superlative most pat)
* Opportunely, in a timely or suitable way.
** c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:Now might I do it pat
* Perfectly.
    He has the routine down pat.
* Straight, right, exactly, precisely.
** 1922 September 22, “At the Wauwatosa Table”, in City Club News, volume viii, number 2, Milwaukee, page 7:Wauwa Pease says of the strategic position of the Pirates in the dining room: “They have taken the table near the upper doorway so they can make a speedy exit in case their lair is raided.” Of course, the Wauwas stand pat in the middle of the dining room, having nothing to fear.
** 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros‎, London: Jonathan Cape, page 8:His nose sitteth flat on the face of him as it were a dab of clay, and I can see pat up his nostrils a summer day’s journey into his head.
** 1962, Newsweek:Candidates in gubernatorial campaigns must stand pat in the middle, trying to push their rivals off the center line, charging the opponent with either left or right extremism.
** 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa, A Month and a Day, page 112:In Ogoni[land], Shell locations lie pat in the middle of villages, in front and back gardens – and that should lay a particular responsibility on Shell to be absolutely cautious in its operations.

##### Translations
#### See also

* feel
* hit
* name
* strike

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

pat (plural pats)
* Clipping of patent.
* (knitting) Clipping of pattern.
** 2012, Kari Cornell, Knitting Sweaters from around the World, page 52:Work in pat to next underarm marker, sm, place next st on holder […]

### Etymology 3

Clipping of patrician.

#### Adjective

pat (comparative more pat, superlative most pat)
* (slang) Upper-class, nobby.

#### See also

* on one's pat
* on the pat and mick
* pat-a-cake
* pat leave
* pit-pat
* pitty-pat

### Further reading

* “pat”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
* “pat”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “pat”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
* “pat adj.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present

### Anagrams

* tPA, APT, Apt, atp, pta., PTA, apt., ap't, TPA, apt, tap, ATP, TAP

## Albanian
### Alternative forms

* patur
* pasë
* pasur

### Etymology

Alternative variant of participles patur, pasë, pasur. See pata (“I had”) (aorist form of kam (“I have”)) for more.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pat/ (Gheg, Arbëreshë)

### Participle

pat
* participle of kam (present)
* participle of pata (aorist)

#### Related terms

* pasuri
* kam
* pata

## Aromanian
### Alternative forms

* patu
* pãtsãscu

### Etymology

From Latin patior. Compare Daco-Romanian păți.

### Verb

pat first-singular present indicative (past participle pãtsitã)
* to experience, undergo (something bad, unpleasant, unexpected, etc.)

#### Related terms

* pãtsiri / pãtsire
* pãtsit

## Bakung
### Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Bariai
### Noun

pat
* stone

### References

* Steve Gallagher, Peirce Baehr, Bariai Grammar Sketch (2005)

## Belait
### Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Bintulu
### Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Bunun
### Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Central Melanau
### Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Chinese
### Etymology 1
#### Pronunciation

* Cantonese (Jyutping): pet$^6$
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: pet$^6$
*** Cantonese Pinyin: pet$^9$
*** Guangdong Romanization: péd$^6$
*** Sinological IPA : /pʰɛːt̚²/

#### Classifier

pat
* (Hong Kong Cantonese) Alternative form of 坺 (pet6)

### Etymology 2
#### Pronunciation

* Cantonese (Jyutping): pet$^1$
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: pet$^1$
*** Cantonese Pinyin: pet$^7$
*** Guangdong Romanization: péd$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /pʰɛːt̚⁵/

#### Noun

pat
* (Hong Kong Cantonese) Alternative form of 噼 (pet1)

## Chuj
### Noun

pat
* house

## Chuukese
### Adjective

pat
* cold

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈpat]

### Etymology 1

Via German Patt and French pat, from Italian patta.

#### Noun

pat m inan
* (chess) stalemate
* stalemate (blocked situation)

##### Declension
### Etymology 2
#### Noun

pat f
* genitive plural of pata

### References

* ↑ Jiří Rejzek (2007) “pat”, in Český etymologický slovník (in Czech), Leda

### Further reading

* “pat”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “pat”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

## Danish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pat/, [ˈpʰad̥]

### Noun

pat c
* stalemate
* alternative form of patte (“teat”)

### Verb

pat
* imperative of patte (“to suck”)

## Dutch
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pɑt/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: pat
* Rhymes: -ɑt

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from French pat, from Italian patta.

#### Noun

pat n (uncountable)
* (chess) tie, draw, stalemate

##### Derived terms

* patstelling

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

pat c (plural patten, diminutive patje n)
* (cycling) the slot in the frame that accepts the axle of the wheel; dropout

## Eskayan
### Numeral

pat
* four

## French
### Etymology

Borrowed from Italian patta (“tie, draw”), influenced by mat (“mate”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pat/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

pat m (plural pats)
* (chess) stalemate

#### Descendants

* → German: Patt
* → Greek: πατ (pat)
* → Polish: pat
* → Serbo-Croatian: pat
* → Slovak: pat

### Further reading

* “pat”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Haitian Creole
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pat/

### Etymology 1

From French pâte.

#### Noun

pat
* dough
* paste
* shoe polish
* toothpaste

### Etymology 2
#### Contraction

pat
* Contraction of pa te.
    Li pat di m sa. ― She didn't tell me that.

### References

* Targète, Jean and Urciolo, Raphael G. Haitian Creole-English dictionary (1993; →ISBN)

## Hokkien

* For pronunciation and definitions of pat – see 捌. (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 捌).

## Iban
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayic *pahət, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paqət (“chisel”).

### Noun

pat
* chisel
* gouge
* tapping knife

#### Derived terms

* mat

### References

* Scott, N. C. (1956) A Dictionary of Sea Dayak‎, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

## Icelandic
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pʰaːt/
* Rhymes: -aːt

### Noun

pat n (genitive singular pats, no plural)
* gesticulation, gesture

#### Related terms

* pata

### Anagrams

* apt
* tap

## Indonesian
### Numeral

pat
* Clipping of empat.

## Javanese
### Alternative forms

* papat

### Etymology

From Old Javanese pat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Kapampangan
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Philippine [Term?], from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paqət.

### Noun

pát
* chisel (for woodworking)

### References

* Parker, Luther (1905) An English-Spanish-Pampango Dictionary: Together with Idioms, Common Conversation, and an Abridgment of English Grammar (Grammar in a Nutshell), Various Uses of Words, Similar Words, Synonyms, Abbreviations, etc., etc.‎, Manila: American Book and News Co., Publishers

## Krio
### Etymology

From English part.

### Noun

pât
* part, portion, segment
* role (part played by actor)
* separation of hair of head with comb

### Verb

pât
* to part, to separate, to divide
* to separate hair of head with comb

### References

* ↑ Fyle, Clifford N., Jones, Eldred D. (1980) A Krio-English dictionary, USA: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 284

## Lamaholot
### Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Latin
### Verb

pāt
* third-person singular perfect active indicative of pāscō

## Latvian
### Particle

pat
* even

## Lithuanian
### Etymology

Probably derived from Proto-Indo-European *pótis (“ruler; husband”), taking an archaic meaning of "self", with semantic shift "self" > "same" > "very". Compare also Hittite [script needed] (-pat).

### Particle

pàt (indeclinable)
* very, right (to emphasize location)
    čia pat ― right here
    iš pat dugno ― from the very bottom
* very, right (to emphasize time)
    dabar pat ― right now
    iki pat saulėlydžio ― right until sunset
* very, same (to emphasize sameness)
    tas pat žmogus ― the very person
    tokia pat spalva ― the same color (literally, “just such a color”)

### References

* ↑ “pat”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012

### Further reading

* “pat”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2025
* “pat”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2025

## Livonian
### Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *patto. Cognates include Estonian patt.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɑt/

### Noun

pat
* sin

### References

* Lauri Kettunen (1938) Livisches Wörterbuch mit grammatischer Einleitung, Helsinki, page 277

## Maguindanao
### Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Maia
### Noun

pat
* stone

## Malay
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpat/ [ˈpat̪]
* Rhymes: -pat, -at

### Numeral

pat (Jawi spelling ڤت)
* Clipping of empat.

## Manggarai
### Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Maranao
### Etymology

Akin to Maguindanao upat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Marshallese
### Etymology

From Proto-Micronesian *pasa, from Proto-Oceanic *basa, an alternative form of Proto-Oceanic *pasa.

### Pronunciation

* (phonetic) IPA: [pʲɑtˠ]
* (phonemic) IPA: /pʲætˠ/
* Bender phonemes: {pat}

### Noun

pat
* swamp

### References

* Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

## Murik (Malaysia)
### Etymology

From Proto-Kayanic *pat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Old Javanese
### Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

#### Descendants

* Javanese: pat / papat

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French pat, from Italian patta, probably from Latin pacta, plural of pactum.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpat/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -at
* Syllabification: pat
* Homophone: pad

### Noun

pat m animal (diminutive pacik)
* (chess) stalemate
* (figuratively, by extension) stalemate (any situation that has no obvious possible movement, but does not involve any personal loss)

#### Derived terms

* patowy
* patować
* zapatować

### Further reading

* pat in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* pat in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Puyuma
### Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Rejang Kayan
### Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Rembong
### Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

### Numeral

pat
* four

## Romanian
### Etymology

Often thought to be from Greek πάτος (pátos, “path”), but also possibly from Latin pactum (“fastened, fixed, planted”), with the loss of the -p- in the normal result, *papt, explicable through dissimilation from the initial consonant; compare păta, boteza.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpat/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -at
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

pat n (plural paturi)
* bed

#### Related terms

* pătură

#### References

* ↑ Romanian Explanatory Dictionary

### References

* pat in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Sasak
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paqət.

### Noun

pat
* chisel

#### Derived terms

* ngepat
* tepat

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French pat.

### Pronunciation

* This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

### Noun

pat m (Cyrillic spelling пат)
* (chess) stalemate

#### Declension
## Slovak
### Etymology

Borrowed from French pat.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [pat]

### Noun

pat m inan (genitive singular patu, nominative plural paty, genitive plural patov, declension pattern of dub)
* (chess) stalemate

#### Derived terms

* patový

### Further reading

* “pat”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

## Toba Batak
### Noun

pat
* foot

### References

* Warneck, J. (1906). Tobabataksch-Deutsches Wörterbuch. Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, p. 146.

## Tocharian B
### Etymology

From Sanskrit बुद्ध (buddha)

### Noun

pat
* stupa

## Volapük
### Etymology

From French particularité.

### Noun

pat (nominative plural pats)
* particularity

#### Declension

$^1$ status as a case is disputed $^2$ in later, non-classical Volapük only

## Yucatec Maya
### Noun

pat
* school shark

## Zou
### Noun

pat
* cotton

#### References

* http://www.languageinindia.com/feb2013/zouphonologyfinal.pdf