spate
A flood or inundation of waterA (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.
» The river is in high spate.
Der Fluss führt Hochwasser.
Meaning
3 senses(Scotland, countable)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.
наводне́ниеnavodnénije, па́водокpávodok
повіньpovinʹ, розливrozlyv
the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow
(Scotland, countable)A sudden heavy downpour of rain.
a sudden forceful flow
(Scotland, countable, figuratively)A sudden increase or rush of something; a flood, an outburst, an outpouring.
наплывnaplyv
напливnaplyv, потікpotik, сплескsplesk
Examples
3 sentencesThe river is in high spate.
deDer Fluss führt Hochwasser. — Dani6187
There has been a spate of thefts in our area recently.
deEs gab kürzlich eine Reihe von Einbrüchen in unserer Gegend. — Dani6187
Tom had a back-to-base security system installed in his house, following a spate of burglaries in his street.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
The noun is derived from Middle English spate, spait (“a flood”), influenced by Scots spatThe 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.
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