Splat Is a Word Invented by Its Own Sound
Splat is the sound of something wet hitting a surface. It is a pure onomatopoeia with a second life in computing.
Splat is the sound of something soft or wet striking a flat surface, and the mark it leaves. It is pure onomatopoeia, recorded from the 1890s, and it belongs to a family English built the same way: *splash*, *splatter*, *splodge*, *spatter*. The *spl-* opening carries the sense of liquid scattering. Programmers call the asterisk a *splat*, from the way it looks like something flattened on the page, and a *splat* is also the flat central upright of a chair back.
- A wet impact sound. *It landed with a splat.*
- A splash mark. *A splat of paint.*
- An asterisk (computing). *The splat operator.*
- A chair's back panel. *A carved splat.*
- Onomatopoeic. *From the 1890s.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | splat | A splat. |
| Verb | splat | It splatted. |
| Related | splash | Splash. |
| Related | splatter | Splatter. |
| Computing | splat | The splat. |
- The egg hit the floor with a splat.Sound.
- A splat of mud on the window.Mark.
- Programmers call * a splat.Computing.
The spl- sound family
- Splash — liquid thrown outward
- Splatter — many small scattered marks
- Splodge — British, an irregular blot
- Splutter — speech or liquid coming out unevenly
- All share the sense of liquid dispersing suddenly
Imitative, recorded from the 1890s, related to *splash* and *spatter*.
Why do programmers call an asterisk a splat?
Because it looks like something flattened on the page. The name is informal jargon rather than an official term.
What is a chair splat?
The flat central upright panel in a chair back, often carved or shaped.