Pat vs Pad - What's the difference?
pat | pad |
The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep
A light tap or slap, especially with the hands
A flattish lump of soft matter, especially butter or dung.
* Charles Dickens
To (gently) tap the flat of one's hand on a person or thing.
* 1877 , (Anna Sewell), (Black Beauty) Chapter 22[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Black_Beauty/22]
To hit lightly and repeatedly with the flat of the hand to make smooth or flat
* 1900 , L. Frank Baum , The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chapter 23
(Australia, New Zealand) To stroke or fondle (an animal).
To gently rain.
timely, suitable, apt, opportune, ready for the occasion; especially of things spoken
* 1788, Cowper, Pity for Africans , p 18
trite, being superficially complete, lacking originality
* 2010, New York Times ,
opportunely, in a timely or suitable way.
* c''. 1600 , William Shakespeare, '' III.iii
Perfectly.
patent
(knitting) pattern
* 2012 , Kari Cornell, Knitting Sweaters from around the World (page 52)
A flattened mass of anything soft, to sit or lie on.
A cushion used as a saddle without a tree or frame.
A soft, or small, cushion.
A cushion-like thickening of the skin on the under side of the toes of animals.
The mostly hairless flesh located on the bottom of an animal's foot or paw.
Any cushion-like part of the human body, especially the ends of the fingers.
A stuffed guard or protection, especially one worn on the legs of horses to prevent bruising.
A soft bag or cushion to relieve pressure, support a part, etc.
A sanitary napkin.
(US) A floating leaf of a water lily or similar plant.
(cricket) A soft cover for a batsman's leg that protects it from damage when hit by the ball.
A kind of cushion for writing upon, or for blotting, especially one formed of many flat sheets of writing paper; now especially such a block of paper sheets as used to write on.
A panel or strip of material designed to be sensitive to pressure or touch.
A keypad.
A flat surface or area from which a helicopter or other aircraft may land or be launched.
An electrical extension cord with a multi-port socket one end: "trip cord"
The effect produced by sustained lower reed notes in a musical piece, most common in blues music.
A synthesizer instrument sound used for sustained background sounds.
(US, slang) A bed.
(colloquial) A place of residence.
(cryptography) A random key (originally written on a disposable pad) of the same length as the plaintext.
A mousepad.
(nautical) A piece of timber fixed on a beam to fit the curve of the deck.
To stuff.
To furnish with a pad or padding.
To fill or lengthen (a story, one's importance, etc.).
To imbue uniformly with a mordant.
(cricket) to deliberately play the ball with the leg pad instead of the bat.
(British, dialectal, Australia, Ireland) A footpath, particularly one unformed or unmaintained; a road or track. See footpad.
An easy-paced horse; a padnag.
* Tennyson
(British, obsolete) A robber that infests the road on foot; a highwayman or footpad.
The act of highway robbery.
(British, dialectal) A type of wickerwork basket, especially as used as a measure of fish or other goods.
To travel along (a road, path etc.).
* Somerville
To travel on foot.
To wear a path by walking.
To walk softly, quietly or steadily, especially without shoes.
* 1922 , (Margery Williams), (The Velveteen Rabbit)
(obsolete) To practise highway robbery.
* (Cotton Mather)
The sound of soft footsteps, or a similar noise made by an animal etc.
As nouns the difference between pat and pad
is that pat is the sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep while pad is a flattened mass of anything soft, to sit or lie on.As verbs the difference between pat and pad
is that pat is to (gently) tap the flat of one's hand on a person or thing while pad is to stuff.As an adjective pat
is timely, suitable, apt, opportune, ready for the occasion; especially of things spoken.As an adverb pat
is opportunely, in a timely or suitable way.As a proper noun Pat
is a short form of the female given name Patricia.As an interjection pad is
Indicating a soft flat sound, as of bare footsteps.pat
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) . For loss of ''l , compare (patch) for (platch); (pate) for (plate), etc. See (l).Noun
(en noun)- It looked like a tessellated work of pats of butter.
Derived terms
* pat on the back (n.) * patter * pitter-pat: a diminutive of footfalls. "the pitter-pat of little feet running around the house."Verb
(patt)- To show affection, he decided he would pat the boy on the head.
- He came round to each of us to pat and speak to us for the last time; his voice sounded very sad.
- I patted the cookie dough into shape.
- Before they went to see Glinda, however, they were taken to a room of the Castle, where Dorothy washed her face and combed her hair, and the Lion shook the dust out of his mane, and the Scarecrow patted himself into his best shape, and the Woodman polished his tin and oiled his joints.
- Do you want to pat the cat?
Derived terms
* pat down * pat on the back (v.)Adjective
(en adjective)- a pat expression
- A story so pat , you may think it is coined.
Editorial: Jobs and the Class of 2010, May 23.
- The pat answer is that college students should consider graduate school as a way to delay a job search until things turn around, and that more high school students should go to college to improve their prospects. ''
Derived terms
* pat handAdverb
(en adverb)- Now might I do it pat
- He has the routine down pat .
Derived terms
* pat in the middleSee also
* strike * hit * feel * nameEtymology 2
Abbreviation.Noun
(en noun)- Work in pat to next underarm marker, sm, place next st on holder
Anagrams
* ----pad
English
Etymology 1
1554, "bundle of straw to lie on", .Noun
(en noun)Derived terms
{{der3, gamepad , incontinence pad , joypad , keypad , launchpad , mousepad , notepad , one-time pad , sleeping pad , touchpad , trackpad}}Verb
(padd)- The author began to pad her succinct stories with trite descriptions to keep up with current market trends.
- "Obama pads delegate lead ... with win in key western state."'' Austin American-Statesman ''newspaper, May 21, 2008.
- to pad cloth
Derived terms
* well-paddedEtymology 2
From (etyl) pade, padde, from (etyl) (m), from (etyl) , and possibly related to the (term)-like English paddle.Alternative forms
*Derived terms
* *Etymology 3
From (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)- an abbot on an ambling pad
- (Gay)
- (Byron)
Etymology 4
an alteration of (ped).Noun
(en noun)- (Simmonds)
Etymology 5
partly from (etyl), partly imitative.Verb
(padd)- Padding the streets for half a crown.
- Their feet padded softly on the ground, and they crept quite close to him, twitching their noses, while the Rabbit stared hard to see which side the clockwork stuck out...
- Their chief Argument is, That they never saw'' any Witches, therefore there are ''none''. Just as if you or I should say, We never met with any ''Robbers'' on the Road, therefore there never was any ''Padding there.