gat

See also: Gat, gát, gât, gắt, -gat, and гать

Languages (22)

English

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Afrikaans • Catalan • Danish • Dutch • Icelandic • Lombard • Lower Sorbian • Mauritian Creole • Middle English • Norwegian Nynorsk • Nuer • Occitan • Old English • Old Norse • Romagnol • Romanian • Romansch • Serbo-Croatian • Tagalog • Tok Pisin • Venetan

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Page categories

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡæt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æt

Etymology 1

Clipping of Gatling gun, after inventor Richard Gatling.

Noun

gat (plural gats)

1. (archaic, slang) A Gatling gun.
2. (originally 1920s gangster slang) Any type of gun, usually a pistol.

   Synonyms: piece; see also Thesaurus:firearm

   • 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep:

     You're the second guy I've met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.

   • 1988, N.W.A, Straight Outta Compton:

     Goin' off on a motherfucker like that
     With a gat that's pointed at yo ass

   • 1992, “A Nigga Witta Gun”, in The Chronic, performed by Dr. Dre, Death Row Records:

     It'll make you drop to your knees 'cause you realize, that a gat'll make any nigga civilized.

   • 1994, 1:45 from the start, in Juicy‎ (Hip Hop), spoken by The Notorious B.I.G.:

     I never thought it could happen, this rappin' stuff
     I was too used to packin' gats and stuff

   • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 115:

     Pimp pulled out his gat and let it hang in his hand. His message was clear.

Translations

Gatling gun — see Gatling gun

gun — see gun

Verb

gat (third-person singular simple present gats, present participle gatting, simple past and past participle gatted)

1. (slang) To shoot someone with a pistol or other handheld firearm.
   • 2000, George Nelson, One Woman Short, page 27:

     He in a black suit in a coffin, gatted by a junkie for his fake Rolex watch at a taco stand on Western.

   • 2002, Brian A. Massey, Shadow Clock, page 293:

     Vance's death scene would have a racy romantic glamour, sort of like Dillinger gatted at the Biograph, Pretty Boy slain in the cornfield, Bonnie and Clyde ambushed in their Ford Roadster.

   • 2005, Lewis Grossberger, Turn that down!, page 198:

     Fact I was chillin' with Notorious BIG when he got gatted. It was a^[sic] accident. Biggie got in front of my Glock when I was bustin' slugs at some mothaf***a.

Etymology 2

From guitar, by shortening.

Noun

gat (plural gats)

1. (New Zealand, slang) A guitar.

Etymology 3

Verb

gat

1. (Scotland and Northern England or archaic) Simple past of get.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 19:27:

     And Abraham gat up early in the morning

Etymology 4

From Icelandic gat.

Noun

gat (plural gats)

1. An opening between sandbanks; a strait.

Etymology 5

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Gat (hat)

Wikipedia

From Korean 갓 (gat).

Noun

gat (plural gats)

2. A traditional Korean hat made of horsehair, once worn by married gentlemen.

Alternative forms

• kat

Translations

traditional Korean hat

Chinese: Mandarin: 黑笠 (hēilì), 朝鮮笠 / 朝鲜笠 (cháoxiǎnlì) Japanese: カッ (ja) (ga'), 笠子帽 Jeju: 네시 (nesi) Korean: 갓 (ko) (gat) Russian: кат (ru) m (kat)

Etymology 6

Noun

gat

1. Alternative spelling of khat.

Etymology 7

Alternative forms

• Gat

Noun

gat (uncountable)

1. (Ireland, slang) Guinness (type of beer).
   • 2021, T. M. Cromer, Pints & Potions:

     Ruairí can tell you who goes to what bill, and I can spare a few minutes to show you how to pour a proper pint of gat.

Anagrams

• ATG, GTA, TAG, TGA, tag

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch gat (“hole, gap; arse”), from Middle Dutch gat, from Old Dutch *gat, from Proto-Germanic *gatą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /χat/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gat (plural gate, diminutive gaatjie)

1. hole; perforation
2. gap; opening

   Hy't 'n gat in sy opvoeding.

   He has a gap in his education.

3. hole or hollowed out area used as a shelter or home by animals
4. (figuratively) dump; a run-down living space, room or house

   Jinne! Jy bly in 'n gat!

   Man! You live in a dump!

5. (golf) hole; cup

Synonyms

• (gap): gaping
• (golf): putjie

Derived terms

• gatvol

Noun

gat (plural gatte, diminutive gatjie)

1. (vulgar) anus
2. (crude) rump; buttocks; bum; ass; backside of a human

   Sit op jou gat!

   Sit on your ass!

3. the backside of animals or objects

   Die olifant staan met sy gat na ons toe.

   The elephant is standing with his backside turned to us.

Synonyms

• (backside, ass): agterstewe, blaker, stert
• (anus): hol, poephol

Derived terms

• gatkant
• kaalgat

Anagrams

• agt

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan gat, from Late Latin cattus (“cat”). Compare Occitan gat~cat, French chat, Spanish gato.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɡat]

• Audio (Valencia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at

Noun

gat m (plural gats, feminine gata, feminine plural gates)

1. cat (feline animal)
2. jack (device for lifting heavy objects)
3. A catshark, especially the small-spotted catshark.

Synonyms

• (cat): mix (colloquial), moix (colloquial)
• (small-spotted catshark): gat ver

Derived terms

• agafar el gat
• donar gat per llebre
• el gat i la rata
• esgatinyar-se
• estar com el gat i el gos
• gat cerval
• gat d'algàlia
• gat de mar
• gat dels frares
• gat escaldat amb aigua tèbia en té prou
• gat fer
• gat lleopard
• gat mesquer
• gat ratllat
• gat salvatge
• gatada
• gatassa
• gatinar
• gatinyar-se
• gatmaimó
• gató
• gatvaire
• haver-hi gat amagat
• quatre gats
• semblar un gat escorxat
• tenir el gat

Related terms

• gata
• gatet

Adjective

gat (feminine gata, masculine plural gats, feminine plural gates)

1. (Mallorca) drunk

References

• “gat”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “gat”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “gat” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “gat” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse gat, from Proto-Germanic *gatą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡat/

Noun

gat (singular definite gattet, plural indefinite gatter)

1. (zoology) anus (of an animal, fish especially)
2. (nautical) scupper

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch gat, from Old Dutch *gat, from Proto-West Germanic *gat, from Proto-Germanic *gatą. Doublet of gate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣɑt/
• (Holland)

  Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: gat
• Rhymes: -ɑt

Noun

gat n (plural gaten, diminutive gaatje n)

1. gap, hole

   Synonyms: hol, opening

   Het kind viel door een gat in de omheining. ― The child fell through a gap in the fence.

   Er zit een groot gat in de muur na het verwijderen van het schilderij. ― There is a big hole in the wall after removing the painting.

   Het lek in het dak veroorzaakte een gat waar het water naar binnen stroomde. ― The leak in the roof caused a gap where the water flowed in.

2. godforsaken place, hamlet

   Synonyms: uithoek, midden van nergens

3. (archaic) port

Derived terms

• buitengaats
• er geen gat in zien (“to see no way out”)
• gaatels
• gatenkaas
• gatenteil
• in de gaten (“with an eye on”)
• knoopsgat
• kontgat
• mangat
• niet voor een gat te vangen (“resourceful, slippery”)
• praatjes vullen geen gaatjes
• spuigat
• witgat

Descendants

• Afrikaans: gat

Descendants

• Afrikaans: gat
• Berbice Creole Dutch: gati
• Jersey Dutch: xjât, hât
• Negerhollands: gat, gad

Noun

gat n or m (plural gatten or gaten, diminutive gatje n or gaatje n)

1. (vulgar) arsehole
2. (by extension, informal) the buttocks, butt, bum, rear-end, bottom of a person or animal
   • "Het regent" (nursery rhyme).

     Het regent, het regent, / de pannetjes worden nat. / Er kwamen twee soldaatjes aan, / die vielen op hun gat.

     It's raining, it's raining, / the roof tiles are getting wet. / Two soldiers were coming near, / who fell on their buttocks.

     1931, Antoon Coolen, De goede moordenaar‎:

     Dan vat hij het klein jongske van de grond en zet het op zijn gatje op het grote paard.

     Then he picks up the little boy from the ground and puts him on his ass on the big horse.

   Synonyms: achterste, kont, (vulgar) reet

Derived terms

• gatlikker

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaːt/
• Rhymes: -aːt

Etymology 1

From Old Norse gat, from Proto-Germanic *gatą.

Noun

gat n (genitive singular gats, nominative plural göt)

1. hole, perforation (an opening through a solid body)

   Hann notaði skóna þangað til komið var gat á þá.

   He used the shoes until they had got a hole in them.

2. (colloquial, school) a gap in a fixed schedule, an unassigned time in the schedule, usually between classes; break, free period

   Ég er í gati milli níu og hálfellefu á fimmtudögum.

   I have a break between nine and half past ten on Thursdays.

Declension

Declension of gat (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	gat	gatið	göt	götin
accusative	gat	gatið	göt	götin
dative	gati	gatinu	götum	götunum
genitive	gats	gatsins	gata	gatanna

Derived terms

• standa á gati (“to be unable to answer a question, to be at a loss”)
• reka einhvern á gat (“to stump someone, to ask someone a question he cannot answer”)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

gat

1. first-person singular active present indicative of geta

   Ég gat ekki stöðvað hana.

   I couldn't stop her.

2. third-person singular active present indicative of geta

See also

• hola

Lombard

Alternative forms

• gatt, gàtt (Western orthographies)
• gàt (Eastern orthographies)

Etymology

From Latin cattus ("cat"), cognate to Ligurian Italian gatto, Catalan and Piedmontese gat, Spanish gato.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡat/
  • (Western, Eastern) IPA^(key): [ɡat]
  • (Ticinese) IPA^(key): [ɡat], [ɡɛt], [ɟɛt]

Noun

gat m (masculine plural gatj, feminine singular gata, feminine plural gate)

1. cat

Lower Sorbian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *gatь (“dike”). Cognate with Upper Sorbian hat, Polish gać, Serbo-Croatian gat (“ditch, dam”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡat/
• Rhymes: -at
• Syllabification: gat

Noun

gat m inan (diminutive gaśik)

1. pond
2. dam, embankment

Declension

Declension of gat

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	gat	gata	gaty
Genitive	gata	gatowu	gatow
Dative	gatoju	gatoma	gatam
Accusative	gat	gata	gaty
Instrumental	gatom	gatoma	gatami
Locative	gaśe	gatoma	gatach

Derived terms

• gatny
• gatojski
• pódgataŕ
• pódgatki

Further reading

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928), “gat”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999), “gat”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Mauritian Creole

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡat/

Verb

gat

1. Medial form of gate

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

gat

1. alternative form of gate (“gate”)

Etymology 2

Noun

gat

1. alternative form of gate (“way”)

Etymology 3

Noun

gat

1. (Northern, Early Middle English) alternative form of got

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Verb

gat

1. past tense of gjeta

Etymology 2

Noun

gat n (definite singular gatet, indefinite plural gat, definite plural gata or gati)

1. (pre-2012) alternative form of gatt

Nuer

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡat], [ɡad]

Noun

gat

1. son

Occitan

Alternative forms

• cat

Etymology

From Old Occitan, from Late Latin cattus (compare Catalan gat, French chat). See cat for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡat]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gat m (plural gats, feminine gata, feminine plural gatas)

1. a cat

Related terms

• gata
• gatet

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gaits. Cognate with Old Frisian *gāt, Old Saxon gēt, Old Dutch *geit, Old High German geiȥ, Old Norse geit, Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍄𐍃 (gaits); and with Latin haedus (“kid”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑːt/

Noun

gāt f

1. goat
   • 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 24‎:

     Iċ eom wunderliċu wiht, wrǣsne mīne stefne, hwīlum beorce swā hund, hwīlum blǣte swā gāt, hwīlum grǣde swā gōs, hwīlum ġielle swā hafoc,…

     I am a wonderful thing, change my voice, sometimes bark like a hound, sometimes bleat like a goat, sometimes cry like a goose, sometimes yell like a hawk,…

Declension

Strong consonant stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	gāt	gǣt
accusative	gāt	gǣt
genitive	gǣt, gāte	gāta
dative	gǣt	gātum

Hyponyms

• bucca (“male goat”)
• tiċċen (“kid”)

Derived terms

• gātānstīg
• gātbucca
• gāthierde

Descendants

• Middle English: got, gat, gathe, goth, goet, gote, gothe, goot (Late Middle English)
  • English: goat (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: gait, gayt
  • Yola: geearth, geearte, gurth

Old Norse

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *gatą.

Noun

gat n

1. hole, opening

Related terms

• gata

Descendants

• Norwegian Nynorsk: gatt

Etymology 2

Verb

gat

1. first/third-person singular past indicative active of geta

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “gat”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Romagnol

FWOTD – 5 July 2014

Etymology

From Late Latin cattus (“cat”). See the etymology at cat for further details.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡat/, [ˈɡaɐ̯t]

Noun

gat m (plural ghët)

1. cat (Felis silvestris catus, a domesticated feline commonly kept as a house pet)
   • December 2007, Vincenzo Sanchini, Tigrin e Biancon in la Ludla, il Papiro, page 8:

     S'i padrùn gio tla pianura,\ chi por gat j è armast te' ghét,\ in s'è mòs da meda tl'éra,\ a raspè mla porta tchjusa.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Hungarian gát, from Proto-Slavic *gatь.

Noun

gat n (plural gaturi)

1. (Transylvania) dam

Declension

Declension of gat

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	gat	gatul		gaturi	gaturile
genitive-dative	gat	gatului		gaturi	gaturilor
vocative	gatule			gaturilor

Romansch

Alternative forms

• giat (Rumantsch Grischun, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Puter, Vallader)

Etymology

From Late Latin cattus.

Noun

gat m (plural gats)

1. (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan) cat

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *gatь (“dike”). Cognate with Slovak hať (“dam”), Upper Sorbian hat, Polish gać, Lower Sorbian gat (“pond, dam”), and Russian гать (gatʹ, “causeway”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡât/

Noun

gȁt m inan (Cyrillic spelling га̏т)

1. ditch
2. dam

Declension

Declension of gat

	singular	plural
nominative	gȁt	gàtovi
genitive	gata	gatova
dative	gatu	gatovima
accusative	gat	gatove
vocative	gate	gatovi
locative	gatu	gatovima
instrumental	gatom	gatovima

Further reading

• “gat”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Tagalog

Noun

gat (Baybayin spelling ᜄᜆ᜔)

1. alternative letter-case form of Gat

Further reading

• “gat”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Anagrams

• tag-

Tok Pisin

Alternative forms

• igat

Etymology

From English got.

Verb

gat

1. have
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 1:20:

     Bihain God i tok olsem, “Solwara i mas pulap long ol kain kain samting i gat laip. Na ol pisin i mas kamap na flai nabaut long skai.”

     →New International Version translation

Derived terms

• gat bel
• igat
• nogat

Venetan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡat/

Noun

gat m (plural gati) (Belluno, northern Treviso, Chipilo)

1. alternative form of gato

References

• “gat”, in el Galepin – www.elgalepin.com