fat
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: făt, IPA(key): /fæt/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -æt
- Homophone: phat
Etymology 1

From Middle English fat, from Old English fǣtt (“fatted, fat”), from Proto-Germanic *faitidaz (“fatted”), originally the past participle of the verb *faitijaną (“to make fat”), from *faitaz (“fat”). Cognate with German feist (“fatted, plump, obese”). Related also to Saterland Frisian fat (“fat”), Dutch vet (“fat”), German fett (“fat, corpulent”), Swedish fet (“fat, oily, fatty”), Icelandic feitur (“fat”).
Adjective
fat (comparative fatter, superlative fattest)
- Carrying more fat than usual on one's body; plump; not lean or thin.
- 1932, New Orleans (La.) Board of Health, Vox Sanitatis
- While Hennessey is pouring the milk, the fat guy with the big pot-belly, will come over and write a lot of junk in his little book.
- 2014, Isabel Quintero, Gabi, a Girl in Pieces, Cinco Puntos Press (→ISBN), page 46:
- Because, really, who would like the fat girl? Sebastian said I was crazy for thinking that.
- The fat man had trouble getting through the door.
- The fattest pig should yield the most meat.
- 1932, New Orleans (La.) Board of Health, Vox Sanitatis
- Thick.
- The fat wallets of the men from the city brought joy to the peddlers.
- 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 731476803:
- So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
- Bountiful.
- Oily; greasy; unctuous; rich; said of food.
- (obsolete) Exhibiting the qualities of a fat animal; coarse; heavy; gross; dull; stupid.
- (Can we date this quote?) Ralph Waldo Emerson
- making our western wits fat and mean
- Bible, Isaiah vi. 10
- Make the heart of this people fat.
- (Can we date this quote?) Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Fertile; productive.
- a fat soil; a fat pasture
- Rich; producing a large income; desirable.
- a fat benefice; a fat office; a fat job
- (Can we date this quote?) Thomas Carlyle
- now parson of Troston, a fat living in Suffolk
- Abounding in riches; affluent; fortunate.
- (Can we date this quote?) Jonathan Swift
- persons grown fat and wealthy by long impostures
- (Can we date this quote?) Jonathan Swift
- (dated, printing) Of a character which enables the compositor to make large wages; said of matter containing blank, cuts, or many leads, etc.
- a fat take; a fat page
- Alternative form of phat
Synonyms
- (carrying a larger than normal amount of fat): chubby, chunky, corpulent, lardy (slang), obese, overweight, plump, porky (slang), rotund, tubby, well-fed; see also Thesaurus:obese
- (thick): thick
- (bountiful): bountiful, prosperous
- (obese):
Derived terms
Descendants
- Sranan Tongo: fatu
Translations
|
|
|
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
|
Noun
fat (usually uncountable, plural fats)
- (uncountable) A specialized animal tissue with a high oil content, used for long-term storage of energy.
- (countable) A refined substance chemically resembling the oils in animal fat.
- That part of an organization deemed wasteful.
- We need to trim the fat in this company
- (slang) An erection.
- I saw Daniel crack a fat.
- (golf) A poorly played shot where the ball is struck by the top part of the club head. (see also thin, shank, toe)
- The best or richest productions; the best part.
- to live on the fat of the land
- (dated, printing) Work containing much blank, or its equivalent, and therefore profitable to the compositor.
- a fat person
- 1996, Roger Stone, "Local Swing Fever", highlighted by National Enquirer in September 1996 and Daily Mail in January 2019
- Prefer military, bodybuilders, jocks. No smokers or fats please.
- 1996, Roger Stone, "Local Swing Fever", highlighted by National Enquirer in September 1996 and Daily Mail in January 2019
Synonyms
- (animal tissue): adipose tissue, lard (in animals; derogatory slang when used of human fat)
- (substance chemically resembling the oils in animal fat): grease, lard
- (fat person): fatty, fatso see also Thesaurus:fat person
Derived terms
Descendants
- Sranan Tongo: fatu
Translations
|
|
|
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
|
|
Verb
fat (third-person singular simple present fats, present participle fatting, simple past and past participle fatted)
- (transitive, archaic) To make fat; to fatten.
- (intransitive, archaic) To become fat; to fatten.
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English, from Old English fæt (“vat, vessel, jar, cup, casket, division”), from Proto-Germanic *fatą (“vessel”), from Proto-Indo-European *pod- (“vessel”). Cognate with Dutch vat (“barrel, vessel”), German Fass (“barrel, drum”), Swedish fat (“barrel, dish, cask”). See vat.
Noun
fat (plural fats)
- (obsolete) A large tub or vessel for water, wine, or other liquids; a cistern.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Joel 2:24:
- And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
- 1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 4, page 429:
- In 1431 New College purchases brewing vessels, under the names of a mash fat, for 6s. 10d., a wort fat for 2s., a 'Gilleding' tub for 2s. 6d., and two tunning barrels at 8d. each, a leaden boiler for 24s., another for 12s., and a great copper beer pot for 13s. 4d.
-
- (obsolete) A dry measure, generally equal to nine bushels.
Synonyms
Translations
Albanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [fat]
References
- Stefan Schumacher & Joachim Matzinger, Die Verben des Altalbanischen: Belegwörterbuch, Vorgeschichte und Etymologie (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 2013), 211.
Buli (Indonesia)
Etymology
From Proto-Halmahera-Cenderawasih *pat, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *pat, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.
Catalan
Related terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “fat” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Chuukese
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fɑt/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: fat
- Rhymes: -ɑt
French
Etymology
From Old Occitan fat, from Latin fatuus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fa/
Audio (file)
Further reading
- “fat” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Friulian
Icelandic
Etymology
From Old Norse fat, from Proto-Germanic *fatą, from Proto-Indo-European *pod-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /faːt/
- Rhymes: -aːt
Kowiai
Etymology
From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.
Ladin
Derived terms
Molise Croatian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fât/
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | fat | fata |
genitive | fata | fati, fat |
dative | fatu | fati, fatami |
accusative | fat, fata | fata |
locative | fatu | fata |
instrumental | fatom, fatam | fati, fatami |
References
- Breu, W., Mader Skender, M. B. & Piccoli, G. 2013. Oral texts in Molise Slavic (Italy): Acquaviva Collecroce. In Adamou, E., Breu, W., Drettas, G. & Scholze, L. (eds.). 2013. EuroSlav2010: Elektronische Datenbank bedrohter slavischer Varietäten in nichtslavophonen Ländern Europas – Base de données électronique de variétés slaves menacées dans des pays européens non slavophones. Konstanz: Universität / Paris: Lacito (Internet Publication).
Norwegian Bokmål
Noun
fat n (definite singular fatet, indefinite plural fat or fater, definite plural fata or fatene)
Derived terms
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fɑːt/
Derived terms
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *fatą.
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse fat, from Proto-Germanic *fatą, from Proto-Indo-European *pod-.
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Noun
fat n
Declension
Declension of fat | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | fat | fatet | fat | faten |
Genitive | fats | fatets | fats | fatens |
Derived terms
- (saucer): tefat
- (serving dish): serveringsfat, kakfat
- (barrel; container): fatöl
Idioms
- ha någons huvud på ett fat ― have someone's head on a platter
- det ligger någon i fatet ― it's in someone's plate(about something that is, or is by others perceived as, an obstacle (physical or mental) to someone)
Tboli
Etymology
From Proto-Philippine *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.
Yamdena
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.