Added 9 October 2026
scatter
/ˈskætə/ noun
In Latin: dissipō Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about scatter at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A haphazard distribution in all directions.
- The act of scattering.
verb
Origin
From Middle English scateren, skateren, also schateren, * probably a variant of shatter, which is imitative; * or from Old English *sceaterian, probably akin to a dialect of Old Norse, possibly ultimately related to Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split, shatter”). Compare Middle Dutch scheteren (“to scatter”), Low German schateren, Dutch schateren (“to burst out laughing”); and is apparently remotely akin to Ancient Greek σκεδάννυμι (skedánnumi, “scatter, disperse”). and Tocharian B kät- (“to scatter, sow seeds”). Doublet of shatter.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)