spat·ter / ˈspatər/ • v. [tr.] cover with drops or spots of something: passing vehicles spattered his shoes and pants with mud. ∎  scatter or splash (liquid, mud, etc.) over a surface: he spatters grease all over the stove. ∎  [intr.] fall so as to be scattered over an area: she watched the raindrops spatter down.• n. a spray or splash of something. ∎  a sprinkling: there was a spatter of freckles over her nose. ∎  a short outburst of sound: the sharp spatter of shots.

spatter Fluid basaltic pyroclasts which accumulate by fallout from a Strombolian volcanic eruption column to form a rampart around the vent. The individual clots are so fluid when they land that they often mould together, like flattened pancakes.

spatter XVI. frequent. f. imit. base repr. also in LG., Du. spatten burst, spout, WFlem. spatteren; see -ER4
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