spate
To flood or inundate with waterTo (suddenly) flood or inundate (a river or other watercourse) with water.
» The river is in high spate.
Der Fluss führt Hochwasser.
Meaning
2 senses(Scotland, archaic, transitive)To (suddenly) flood or inundate (a river or other watercourse) with water.
(Scotland, archaic, intransitive)To (suddenly) rain heavily; to pour.
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.
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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Forms
spates, spating, spated, spatedLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle