English

Noun

quat ‎(plural quats)

1. (obsolete) A pustule.
2. (chemistry) A quaternary ammonium cation.
   • 2009 October 1, Hilary Howard, “New Ways to Moisturize for Less”, in New York Times:

     “Because quats are positively charged, and skin proteins have a slightly negative charge, quats like to attach themselves to skin,” said Greg Nole, a manager at Unilever, the parent company of Vaseline and Dove.

3. (obsolete) An annoying, worthless person.
   • 1565, Shakespeare, Othello:

     I have rubb'd this young quat almost to the sense, And he grows angry.

4. Alternative spelling of khat

Verb

quat ‎(third-person singular simple present quats, present participle quatting, simple past and past participle quatted)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To satiate.
   • 1757, Samuel Foote, The Author, Act II, Scene ii, 1765, The Dramatic Works, Volume 1, page 28,

     Mrs. Cad. Well, come, begin and ſtart me, that I may come the ſooner to quatting——Huſh ! here′s Siſter ; what the deuce brought her !

2. (Scotland, dialectal, transitive) relinquish, forsake, give up.

   Ye hae grown proud since ye quatted the begging. — Scottish proverb, said satirically.

   • 1813, Hugh Porter, Poetical attempts, page 35:

     'Mang mis'ry's posts, whar I did sit, My tongue took sic a faltrin' fit, I thought the wee remains o' wit I had, was quat me

   • 1868, John Wilson, Recreations of Christopher North, Volume 2:

     They seem to our ears indeed to have "quat their roaring play."

3. (Wales and Southwest England, dialectal, intransitive) To squat or crouch down.
   • 1700, Ta Paidia Tēs Kythereias; Or, King's Place In An Uproar, page 10:

     Tho' B-lt-n, quatted in the hall, Her jolly r-mpfs display'd, The size of it amaz'd them all, and Hector quite dismay'd.

   • 1870, William Bottrell, Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall:

     This cows' courant so excited the tinners' curiosity that they went up the hill till they saw the two men wrestling, with the women looking on; then they quatted (stooped) down in a brake of furze to watch the play without being seen.

   • 1932, Ernest Thompson Seton, Famous Animal Stories, page 678:

     Tarka quatted on the ledge ; he knew that Deadlock would follow hiin wherever he swam in water.

   • 2013, R. M. Lienau, The Truchas Light: A Novel, ISBN 1611392004, page 155:

     She quatted down next to him and rubbed his shoulder.

Adjective

quat ‎(not comparable)

1. (Scotland, dialectal, with "of") Free; no longer involved with; quit.
   • 1838, Chambers's Journal, page 134:

     My word, I gie him nae encouragement ! I canna bide the sicht o' him, and wad gie the best gown I hae to be quat o' him."

   • 1861, Mrs. Oliphant, The House on the Moor:

     There it is, sir—Im blythe to be quat of it; pitch it from ye furder than I can see.

   • 1895, William Stewart, Lilts and Larks Frae Larkie, page 177:

     HECH me, but I'm weary, I'm heart-sick and sad ; O' my kinsfolk I've got quite a wamefu', I wush I was quat o' the d — nable squad — Forgi'e me for sweerin' sae shamefu'.

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kwēdą, whence also Old English cwēad.

Noun

quāt m

1. mud
2. dirt

Descendants

• German: Kot