spate
Plural: spates
Noun
- A sudden flood or rush; a large number of similar things.
- (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
- a sudden forceful flow
- the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow
- 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.
- 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.
- To (suddenly) rain heavily; to pour.
Examples
- A SPATE of vowels on his rack forced him to trade tiles, losing a turn.
Origin / 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”).
Synonyms
batch, deal, flock, freshet, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, lot, mass, mess, mickle, mint, mountain, muckle, passel, peck, pile, plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, rush, sight, slew, stack, surge, tidy sum, upsurge, wad
Scrabble Score: 7
spate: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordspate: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
spate: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary