Smatter
/ˈsmæt.ər/noun
To speak or know about something only in a superficial, scattered way.
Did you know?Smatter is historically tied to a family of words meaning to splash, splatter, or scatter, so its sense of “piecemeal knowledge” grew from the idea of something spread thin and incomplete.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*smer-
“To smear, spread, or soil”
Old English
OE
smetan
“To smear or daub”
Middle English
ME
smateren
“To splash, scatter, or dab”
15th Century
English
smater
“To speak or know in a scattered, superficial way”
Modern English
English
smatter
“To have slight, superficial knowledge of something”