spate means A (sudden) flood or inundation of water; specifically, a flood in or overflow of a river or other watercourse due to heavy rain or melting snow; (uncountable, archaic) flooding, inundation. It carries an Arena rating of 1796, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, spate ranks #363 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #501 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,843 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,613 of 42,762 for Qualifying.
spate is pronounced /speɪt/.
Why “spate” is a great word
A sudden flood, especially in a river, or a large, sudden outpouring or increase of something. From Middle English *spate*, of uncertain origin; possibly related to Dutch *spatten* ("to spatter, splash") and ultimately imitative of spitting; first attested in the 15th century in northern English and Scots usage. Unlike "flood," which implies a widespread, catastrophic overflow, or "outburst," which suggests a violent emotional eruption, a spate is a fierce, localized surge of tangible things. It is the brown water boiling over a stone weir after a cloudburst, the week when three separate envelopes bring bad news, or the relentless clatter of hailstones on a tin roof—a reminder that the world delivers its forces not in singular blows, but in rushing, successive waves.
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English spate, spait (“a flood”), influenced by Scots spate (“torrent of water, flood; heavy downpour of rain; (figurative) bout of drinking; large crowd of people; flood of events, words, etc.”). The further etymology of the Middle English and Scots words is uncertain; they are possibly related to English spatter and Dutch spatten (“to spatter, splash”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sp(y)ēw-, *spyū- (whence English spit (“to evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth, etc.”)), which is imitative of spitting. The verb is derived from the noun, probably influenced by Scots spate (“to flood, swell; to rain heavily; (figurative) to scold fiercely”).
noun
- A (sudden) flood or inundation of water; specifically, a flood in or overflow of a river or other watercourse due to heavy rain or melting snow; (uncountable, archaic) flooding, inundation.
- A sudden heavy downpour of rain.e.g.“Doun comes a jaw o' droukin' rain / Upon their honours— / God sends a spate outower the plain, / Or mebbe thun'ers.” — [1887, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Blast—1875”, in Underwoods (in Scots), London: Chatto and Windus, […], →OCLC, book II (In Scots), page 101:
- A sudden increase or rush of something; a flood, an outburst, an outpouring.
verb
- To (suddenly) flood or inundate (a river or other watercourse) with water.e.g.“[H]e paused in a reverie of wilderment and wonder when he could not discern the old fishing-places—they were deeply and darkly flooded for many yards on every side of the spated stream.” — 1844 October, J. Nevay, “Mary Hepburn; or, The Victim of Slander. Chapter X.”, in The Ladies’ Cabinet of Fashion, Music, and Romance, volume II (New Series), London: G. Henderson, →OCLC, page 255:
- To (suddenly) rain heavily; to pour.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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