Meaning of Spate | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A (sudden) flood or inundation of water; specifically, a flood in or overflow of a river or other watercourse due to heavy rain or melting snow; (uncountable, archaic) flooding, inundation.
   Scotland, countable
2. A sudden heavy downpour of rain.
   Scotland, countable
3. A sudden increase or rush of something; a flood, an outburst, an outpouring.
   Scotland, countable, figuratively

Equivalents

Examples

“Thys Lepidium that Pliny & Paul [of Aegina] deſcribe⸝ groweth plentuouſly about the water ſyde that rynneth thorow Morpeth in Northumberland⸝ in ſuche places as great heapes of ſtones are caſten together wyth the myght of a great ſpat or flood⟳.”

“Arous'd by bluſtering vvinds an' ſpotting thovves, / In mony a torrent dovvn the ſnavv-broo rovves; / VVhile craſhing ice, borne on the roaring ſpeat, / Svveeps dams, an' mills, an' brigs, a' to the gate; […]”

“The last⟳ tall son of Lot and Bellicent, / And tallest, Gareth, in a showerful spring⟳ / Stared at the spate. A slender-shafted Pine / Lost footing, fell, and so was whirled away.”

“Scamander was indeed a great power for the Trojans; it was the great river of the country, […] His floods, however useful in time of war, would in time of peace do fearful damage⟳. […] [H]e carried away, in sudden spates, many of the horses that were pastured on his banks.”

“It [the Halladale river] receives the whole of its water-supply from a number⟳ of hill burns and several lochs of inconsiderable extent. it follows, therefore, that after rain⟳ the surplus water soon runs out, and the river soon dwindles down to an almost unfishable condition. […] An ordinary spate will not suffice to keep⟳ the river in good order⟳ for more than a couple of days.”

“At Odendaal, where he [Christiaan de Wet⟳] had hoped to cross, the river was in spate, the British flag waved from a post⟳ upon the further side, and a strong force⟳ of expectant Guardsmen eagerly awaited him there.”

“The snow⟳ had left the bottoms and valleys and nestled only on the north slopes of the ice-scarred ridges. The glacial drip was already in evidence, and every creek in roaring spate.”

“At the edge of the burn, where the path turns downward, there is a patch of shingle washed up by some spate.”

“After a rainstorm on July 29, 1966, the Shihtouyu River in Lonan County was in full spate. Mountain torrents poured into it carrying silt and rocks down with them.”

“Doun comes a jaw o' droukin' rain⟳ / Upon their honours— / God sends a spate outower the plain, / Or mebbe thun'ers.”

“Thy rural loves are nature's ſel; / Nae bombaſt ſpates o' nonſenſe ſwell; / Nae ſnap conceits, but that ſweet ſpell / O' witchin love⟳, […]”

“Here is a fine spate of work⟳—a day diddled away, and nothing to show⟳ for it!”

“He couldnae weel tell⟳ how—maybe it was the cauld to his feet—but it cam' in upon him wi' a spate that there was some connection between thir twa, an' that either or baith o' them were bogles.”

“But, my dear David, this world is a censorious place⟳—as who should know⟳ it better than myself, who have⟳ lived ever since the days of my late departed father, God sain him! in a perfect spate of calumnies?”

“Only let⟳ your language match⟳ your subject, then it will be shapely and free; but take⟳ care all the time not to overwhelm your work⟳ in a spate of words to attain the fluency of Isaeus; and that it slip⟳ not out too freely, avoid⟳ the danger of Strada [Zanobi da Strada?].”

“The spate of similar cases filed and decided by lower courts since our decision in Baker [v. Carr] amply shows that the problem of state legislative malapportionment is one that is perceived to exist⟳ in a large number⟳ of the States.”

“The audacious hijacking in Paris of a van carrying the baggage of a Saudi prince to his private jet is obviously an embarrassment to the French capital, whose ultra-high-end boutiques have⟳ suffered a spate of heists in recent months.”

“Rush⟳ Limbaugh told millions of his radio listeners to set⟳ aside any suggestion that climate change⟳ was the culprit for the frightening spate of wildfires ravaging California and the Pacific Northwest.”

CEFR level