Meanings
peat1
plural peats
- countableuncountableSoil formed of dead but not fully decayed plants found in bog areas, often burned as fuel.First known use 14th c.
On the return journey the engine ran short of coal, and came to a stand near Penygroes through shortage of steam. Fortunately, there was some peat in a nearby field, which the enginemen dug and the directors helped to carry to the engine. Steam was soon raised and the story had a happy ending!
1958 September 28, J. M. Dunn, “The Afonwen Line—1”, in Railway Magazine, pages 595-596
peat2
plural peats
- obsoleteA pet, a darling; a woman.
And let it not displease thee, good Bianca, / For I will love thee ne'er the less, my girl. / A pretty peat!
c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], line 78
Peat3
- A surname transferred from the given name.
Origin
peat · noun
- Proto-Brythonic*peθ“portion, segment, piece”
- Northern Middle Englishpete
- Englishpeat
Inherited from Northern Middle English pete (recorded in Latin text as peta), of uncertain origin; perhaps from a Celtic language such as an unattested Pictish or Brythonic source, in turn possibly from Proto-Brythonic *peθ (“portion, segment, piece”); if so, it would be a doublet of piece.
More words from Northern Middle English, Proto-Brythonic
Full word history & related roots →peat · noun
- Middle Dutchpete“godmother or godfather”
- Englishpeat
Probably from Middle Dutch pete (“godmother or godfather”) (modern Dutch peet (“godparent, old woman, grandmother; godchild”)), related to dialectal German Pfette, Pfetter (“godfather; godchild”)), German Pate (“godfather, sponsor”), Patin (“godmother”). Or alternatively, related to pet (“a favourite”).
More words from Middle Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic خُثّ
- خُثّ (ḵuṯṯ)soil
Basque zohikatz
- zohikatzsoil
Bulgarian торф
- торф (torf)soil
Catalan torba
- torbasoil
Chinese Mandarin 泥炭, 泥煤
- 泥炭 (nítàn)soil
- 泥煤 (níméi)soil
Czech rašelina
- rašelinasoil
Danish tørv
- tørvsoil
Dutch turf, veen
- turfsoil
- veensoil
Esperanto torfo
- torfosoil
Finnish turve
- turvesoil
French tourbe
- tourbesoil
German Torf
- Torfsoil
Greek τύρφη
- τύρφη (týrfi)soil
Hebrew כָּבוּל
- כָּבוּל (kavul)soil
Hungarian tőzeg
- tőzegsoil
Icelandic torf, mór
- torfsoil
- mórsoil
Irish móin
- móinsoil
Italian torba
- torbasoil
Japanese 泥炭
- 泥炭 (deitan)soil
Korean 이탄
- 이탄 (itan)soil
Latvian kūdra
- kūdrasoil
Māori rei
- reisoil
Norwegian Bokmål torv
- torvsoil
Persian تورب, پوده
- تورب (turb)soil
- پوده (pude)soil
Polish torf
- torfsoil
Portuguese turfa
- turfasoil
Russian торф
- торф (torf)soil
Scottish Gaelic mòine, fàd
- mòinesoil
- fàdsoil
- fòidsoil
Slovak rašelina
- rašelinasoil
Spanish turba
- turbasoil
Swedish torv
- torvsoil
Turkish torf, turba
- torfsoil
- turbasoil
Ukrainian торф
- торф (torf)soil
Welsh mawn
- mawnsoil
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with peat
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
peat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peat
“peat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peat. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “peat,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peat.
Source: peat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.