shat

shat · verb¹

A late innovation, apparently by analogy with sit → sat; spit → spat, etc. First recorded in the eighteenth century. Compare Old English sċāt.

shat · noun²

1. Arabic · derived fromشَطّ
2. English todayshat

From Arabic شَطّ (šaṭṭ); see chott; for the spelling, compare Shatt al-Arab.

shat · noun³

Sometimes said to be a shortening of an obsolete word (*)shattle (“needle”), but more likely a shortening of the synonymous (pine) shatter.

Shat · proper noun⁴

Named after the Shatterers, from shatterer, a group of labourers hired to "shatter" (break) rocks during the construction of local railway and deep cuttings in the 19th century. Some locals also suggest this nickname referred to Luddites who met at the local Chartist pub to break (shatter) looms.

Words from the same roots