Scatter

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈskætə/

Definitions

1. To throw or drop objects or particles loosely and irregularly in multiple directions ; to spread things across a wide surface or area ; a small number or group of things separated from others
2. To disperse items by tossing them about without order ; to distribute presence or elements widely over a region ; a few items or figures not gathered closely together
3. To send or let fall items randomly in various directions ; to extend distribution over a broad space ; a limited collection or handful of separate units

Etymology: The verb "scatter" is a close cousin of "shatter," and the two may have started as one word that split apart. Middle English speakers had "scateren" and "skateren," and scholars think it may be a variant of "shatter," whose sound suggests breaking into pieces. That makes sense of the meaning: a dropped jar shatters, and whatever breaks apart flies in all directions. Linguists call such pairs doublets, two forms of one source that took separate paths into the language. Some scholars instead trace "scatter" to an Old English word, perhaps "sceaterian," possibly linked to a Scandinavian dialect and, much further back, to an Indo-European root meaning to cut or split. The same ancient root may lie behind the Greek "skedannumi," meaning to scatter or disperse, though the connection is distant. Other relatives point the same way. Middle Dutch "scheteren" meant to scatter, while modern Dutch "schateren" means to burst out laughing, a sense that suggests a sudden, noisy spreading of sound.

Synonyms: disperse, spread, disseminate, disband, strew

Antonyms: gather, collect, assemble, concentrate, accumulate