chatter en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- chătʹər (General-American)
- /ˈtʃætə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈt͡ʃætɚ/ (General-American)
Etymology
Etymology tree Middle English cheteren, chiteren (Imitative)der. Middle English chateren English chatter From Middle English chateren, from earlier cheteren, chiteren (“to twitter, chatter, jabber”), of imitative origin. Compare Saterland Frisian tjoaterje (“to chatter”), West Frisian tsjotterje (“to chatter”), Dutch schateren, schetteren (“chatter”), Dutch koeteren (“jabber”), Middle Low German kidderen (“to chatter”), German Low German queteln (“to chatter”), dialectal German kaudern (“to gobble (like a turkey)”), Danish kvidre (“to twitter, chirp”).
Meanings
-
(uncountable, usually) Talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk.
Although hardly coming under my theme, I cannot omit this: "Against a woman's chatter: Taste at night fasting a root of radish, that day the chatter cannot harm thee."
1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 257:
- (uncountable, usually) The sound of talking.
- (uncountable, usually) The vocalisations of a Eurasian magpie, Pica pica.
-
(uncountable, usually) The vocalisations of various birds or other animals.
At dawn and at sunset the howler monkeys screamed together and the parakeets broke into shrill chatter, but during the hot hours of the day only the full drone of insects, like the beat of a distant surf, filled the ear, while nothing moved amid the solemn vistas of stupendous trunks, fading away into the darkness which held us in.
1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘The Outlying Pickets of the New World’”, in The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 114:The wind rose as the earth darkened, so that fading chatters of woodland animals were countered by the strengthening sounds of waving trees […]
2016, Cornelia F. Mutel, A Sugar Creek Chronicle, page 41:The hare cried and complained of the terrible February cold and the disgusting chatter of the owls[.]
1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 117:
-
(uncountable, usually) An intermittent noise, as from vibration.
Proper brake adjustment will help to reduce the chatter.
-
(uncountable, usually) In national security, the degree of communication between suspect groups and individuals, used to gauge the degree of expected terrorist activity.
The NSA is concerned about increased chatter between known terror groups.
- (uncountable, usually) The situation where a drill or similar tool vibrates and tears the material rather than cutting it cleanly.
-
(collective, countable, usually) A group of songbirds.
There was a lark in the sky, a chatter of rooks, and the swoop of swallows arrived to-day.
1903, William Babington Maxwell, Fabulous Fancies, G. Richards, page 161:There was a chatter of birds in the tree tops just above his head which broke his train of thought and brought him back to reality.
1961, Louis Raphael Nardini, No Man's Land: A History of El Camino Real, Pelican, page 66:Some golden fruit still hung from a crab apple and drew a chatter of birds.
2015, Julia Rochester, The House at the Edge of the World, Penguin Books Limited:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| chatters | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
chatteration · chitter-chatter · antichatter · chatterbox · chattersome · chatterati · chatter-basket · chatterbot · chatter ring · cyberchatter · chatterish · chatterbag · roof-brain chatter
Hypernyms
Relateds
talkative · nonsense · chatterbox
Synonyms
mardle · palaver · natter · chatter · hot air · blabbing · yap · blab · twaddle · prate · yackety-yak · babble · blathering · waffle · bavardage · chinwag · bibble-babble · yatter · claver · nattering · blather · chatting · gabble · prattle · small talk · chattering · tattle · scuttlebutt · chit-chat · blabber · clepe
Translations (87)
es castañeteo (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · cmn 閒話 /闲话 or 閑話 /闲话 (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · tr gevezelik (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fr jacassement (sound of a magpie) · mi haunene (sound of talking) · qu qasi simi (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · sv tjatter (sound of talking) · ja 無駄話 (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · lad avlastina (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · hi बकना (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · pt zumbido (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · mi kōtetetete (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · nl geklets (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fr ronron (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · es palique (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · hu csevegés (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · it cigolio (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · de Gequassel (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · nl geratel (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · sv babbel (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · de Gequatsche (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · hu fecsegés (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fi lörpöttely (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · pt falatório (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fi juttelu (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · bg вибрация (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · mi tarawhete (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · it gracidio (sound of a magpie) · fi pulina (sound of talking) · nl gebabbel (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · it chiacchiericcio (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · nl geouwehoer (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fr jacassement (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · pl terkot (sound of talking) · hi बकवास करना (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · nl gekwetter (sound of a magpie) · it chiacchierio (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · ja 冗言 (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · yi פּלוידערײַ (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · sv pladder (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · mi koekoe (sound of a magpie) · fr blabla (sound of talking) · bg дърдо́рене (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · it stridio (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · es vocerío (sound of talking) · nl geklapper (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · de Gequake (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · tr çene çalmak (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · ga aighneas (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fi kolina (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · nl gekwebbel (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · da skræppe (sound of a magpie) · it gracchio (sound of a magpie) · txb käskor (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · nl geroezemoes (sound of talking) · es parloteo (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fr laïus (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fr blabla (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · ru трёп (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · it mormorio (sound of talking) · es cháchara (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fi räkätys (sound of a magpie) · fi rupattelu (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · sv tjatter (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · pt burburinho (sound of talking) · de Geschnatter (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fr bavardage (sound of talking) · fr brouhaha (sound of talking) · it brusio (sound of talking) · it vibrazione (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · da hakke (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · fr bagou (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · gd goileam (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · ru болтовня́ (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · ca xerrameca (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fi chattailu (degree of communication between suspects) · sq bërbëlit (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fi jaarittelu (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · es cotorreo (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · bg дрънчене (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · el φλυαρία (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fr vrombissement (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · de Geschwätz (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · cmn 廢話 /废话 (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · de Geplapper (talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk) · fi kalina (intermittent noise, as from vibration) · da klapre (intermittent noise, as from vibration)