pat

Etymology 1

From Middle English *patten, alteration (with loss of medial l) of platten, pletten (“to pat”), from Old English plættan (“to buffet, strike, slap, smack, give a sounding blow”), from Proto-Germanic *plat- (“to strike, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *blod-, *bled- (“to strike, beat”). Cognate with Middle Dutch platten, pletten (“to strike, bruise, crush, rub”), German platzen (“to split, burst, break up”), Bavarian patzen (“to pat”), Swedish plätta, pjätta (“to pat, tap”). For loss of l, compare patch for platch; pate for plate, etc. See plat.

noun

1. The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep
   We heard a pat on the door.
2. A light tap or slap, especially with the hands
   Give Mary a pat on the shoulder to get her attention.
3. A flattish lump of soft matter, especially butter or dung.

verb

1. To (gently) tap the flat of one's hand on a person or thing.
   To show affection, he decided he would pat the boy on the head.
2. To hit lightly and repeatedly with the flat of the hand to make smooth or flat
   I patted the cookie dough into shape.
3. (UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) To stroke or fondle (an animal). Compare pet.
   Do you want to pat the cat?
4. To gently rain.

adj

1. Exactly suitable, fitting, apt; timely, convenient, opportune, ready for the occasion; especially of things spoken.
   a pat expression
   Your scruples and arguments bring to my mind a story so pat, you may think it is coin’d, on purpose to answer you, out of my mint; but, I can assure you, I saw it in print. 1788, William Cowper, Pity For Poor Africans 17–20
   Come, stack arms, Men! Pile on the rails; stir up the campfire bright; no matter if the canteen fails, we'll make a roaring night. Here Shenandoah brawls along, there burly Blue Ridge echoes strong, to swell the Brigade's rousing song, of “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.” We see him now — the old slouched hat cocked o’er his eye askew, the shrewd, dry smile, the speech so pat, so calm, so blunt, so true. 1862, John Williamson Palmer, Stonewall Jackson's Way
2. Trite, being superficially complete, lacking originality.
   The pat answer is that college students should consider graduate school as a way to delay a job search until things turn around, and that more high school students should go to college to improve their prospects. 2010-05-22, “Jobs and the Class of 2010”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   Space Jam: A New Legacy takes almost nothing but wrong turns, all leading to a glittering CGI trash heap of cameos, pat life lessons, and stale internet catchphrases. 14 July 2021, A. A. Dowd, “Space Jam: A New Legacy is one big, witless commercial for Warner Bros properties”, in The A.V. Club
   Pat responses from management seemed to be multiple variations on the theme of “We value your feedback.” 2021, Kate Crawford, chapter 2, in Atlas of AI[…]

adv

1. Opportunely, in a timely or suitable way.
2. Perfectly.
   He has the routine down pat.
   Wauwa Pease says of the strategic position of the Pirates in the dining room: “They have taken the table near the upper doorway so they can make a speedy exit in case their lair is raided.” Of course, the Wauwas stand pat in the middle of the dining room, having nothing to fear. Sept 22 1922, “At the Wauwatosa Table”, in City Club News, volume viii, number 2, Milwaukee, page 7
   Candidates in gubernatorial campaigns must stand pat in the middle, trying to push their rivals off the center line, charging the opponent with either left or right extremism. 1962, Newsweek
   In Ogoni[land], Shell locations lie pat in the middle of villages, in front and back gardens – and that should lay a particular responsibility on Shell to be absolutely cautious in its operations. 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa, A Month and a Day, page 112

Etymology 2

noun

1. Clipping of patent.
2. (knitting) Clipping of pattern.
   Work in pat to next underarm marker, sm, place next st on holder[…] 2012, Kari Cornell, Knitting Sweaters from around the World, page 52