Patt

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A shortened form for "pattern" referring to a repeated decorative design ; a chess position where a stalemate occurs without checkmate ; a given name or nickname for someone called Patrick or Patricia
2. An abbreviation commonly used for a decorative motif ; a chess situation where a stalemate arises with no legal moves but king not in check ; a personal name derived from Patrick or Patricia
3. Informal shorthand for a repeated ornamental design ; the technical chess term for a drawn game ending without checkmate or legal moves ; an alternate diminutive for individuals named Patrick or Patricia

Etymology: "Patt" is a clipped form of "pattern," and the shortening is recent enough that it reads as informal. Clipping of this kind, where the first syllable stands in for the whole word, is common in everyday speech, and "patt" is used mainly in casual talk about repeated decorative designs. The longer word has a surprising past. "Pattern" came into English through Middle English "patron," meaning a patron or protector, and also an example to be copied. From Old French "patron" and Medieval Latin "patrōnus," the same root gave English "patron" in its sense of a benefactor, and "pattern" kept the older idea of something set up as a model to follow. A sample that others were meant to imitate was a pattern, which is how the word came to mean a design repeated across a surface.