sb. Orig. Sc. and north. Forms: α. 5– spate, 5–9 spait, 6–7, 9 dial. spaitt, 6–7 spat, 7 spaite, 9 spaight. β. 6–7 speate, 7–9 speat, 9 dial. speatt, speeat, speet, spete, spyet, etc. [Of obscure origin: the early spelling and rhymes show that the original vowel was ā, the later change of which to ea, etc., is regular.]
1. A flood or inundation; esp. a sudden flood or rising in a river or stream caused by heavy rains or melting snow.
α. c. 1425. Wyntoun, Cron., I. vii[i.] heading, The ark and the spate of Noe. Ibid., VII. 771. Na spate Þan mycht mak þar kneys wate.
c. 1440. Alph. Tales, 381. Þe watur þat was cald Padus rase vp opon a grete spate and owryode all þe feldis.
1522. Aberdeen Reg. (1844), I. 105. The sentrice of the brig … quhilk the spat haid brocht dovne incontinent.
1562. Turner, Herbal, II. (1568), 35. Great heapes of Stones are casten together wyth the myght of a great spat or floode.
1570. Levins, Manip., 39. A spate, torrens.
c. 1614. Sir W. Mure, Dido & Æneas, II. 478. Nor haile, nor sleet, nor wind, nor weit [Atlas] eschewes; Adoune his shoulders raging spates do spowt.
1706. Sibbald, Hist. Picts, in Misc. Scot., I. 97. Others perished in the water, being carried down by the spate.
1725. Ramsay, Gentle Sheph., I. ii. The spate may bear away Frae aff the howms your dainty rucks of hay.
1858. Gladstone, Homer, III. 158. That he carried away in sudden spates many of the horses that were pastured on his banks.
1889. F. A. Knight, By Leafy Ways, 25. Heaps of drifted rubbish,… to mark the tide-line of the winter spates.
transf. 1611. Sir W. Mure, Misc. Poems, ii. 60, Wks. (S.T.S.), I. 11. No spaits of teires culs quench ye boyling leede.
1847. Motherwell, Poet. Wks. (ed. 2), 9. In that spate of blood, how well The headless corpse will swim.
β. 1595. Duncan, App. Etym. (E. D. S.), Eluvio, diluvium, a speate of watters.
a. 1670. Spalding, Troub. Chas. I. (Spalding Cl.), I. 81. Throw ane great speat of the water of Die, occasioned be the … extraordinar rayne, thir haill four schippis brak louss.
1731. Morison’s Dict. Decis. (1806), XXXIII. 14524. The prejudice … did arise … from the running in of mud and gravel, by speats and land-floods.
1785. Burns, Brigs of Ayr, 121. While crashing ice, borne on the roaring speat, Sweeps dams, an’ mills, an’ brigs, a’ to the gate.
1818. Miss Ferrier, Marriage, I. 296. A Horse and Cart were drowned at the Ford last Speat.
1863. [W. F. Campbell], Life in Normandy, I. 54. They [i.e., fish] cannot get into these small rivers without a speat.
b. A sudden heavy downpour or storm of rain.
1727. Life J. Semple, in Biogr. Presbyteriana (1827), I. 168. With a Speat of Rain, to raise the Waters.
1793. T. Scott, Poems, 389. Routh o’ kisses, That fell like speats o’ rain.
1825–. in numerous northern dial. glossaries.
1871. Daily News, 25 Aug., 3/4. All day long there had been a ‘spate’ of rain in Inverary, and towards afternoon there set in a ‘spate’ of drinking.
c. fig. A sudden or violent outburst or outpouring of some quality, feeling, etc.; a sudden rush or flood, an unusual number or quantity, of words, events, etc.
α. c. 1614. Sir W. Mure, Dido & Æneas, III. 191. Death-bent Dido,… Transported with a rageing spait of ire.
a. 1689. W. Cleland, Poems (1697), 45. Innocence proves no defence, Against this Spait of violence.
1730. T. Boston, Mem., x. 320. The spate ran high for the transportation [to Closeburn] when we came to town.
a. 1796. ? Burns, Poem on Pastoral Poet., ix. Nae bombast spates o’ nonsense swell.
1826. Scott, Jrnl., 6 Sept. Here is a fine spate of work—a day diddled away, and nothing to show for it.
1890. Argus (Melbourne), 17 Dec., 9/2. I already had such a spate of schools to attend that I was unable to accept the invitation.
β. 1629. Sir W. Mure, True Crucifix, 564, Wks. (S.T.S.), I. 221. Thy Crimes the cause, thy sinnes inunding speate.
1634. Rutherford, Lett. (1862), I. xxxvii. 118. God hath dried up one channel of your love by the removal of your husband. Let now that speat run upon Christ.
1710. Ruddiman, Gloss. Douglas’ Æneis, s.v. Flum, A speat of language.
1731. Plain Reasons Presbyt. Diss., 138. The most honest cause is often run down with the torrent and speat of law-quirks.
1834. Tait’s Mag., I. 428/1. Not a foaming speat, and blether of dictionary words.
1858–61. E. B. Ramsay, Remin., vi. (1870), 168. Sic a speat o’ praying, and sic a speat o’ drinking, I never knew.
2. Without article: Flooding or inundation, swollen condition of water, etc.; copious down-pouring of rain. Now usually without const.
1513. Douglas, Æneid, IX. i. 74. Sevyn swelland ryveris eftyr spait of rayne.
1536. Bellenden, Cron. Scot. (1821), II. 287. In this yeir, al the landis of Godowine, be spait of seis, wes coverit with sandis.
1609. Skene, Reg. Maj., 9. Inundation, or spate of water, or anie other suddaine chance or perill.
c. 1630. in Burton, Scot Abr. (1864), II. 323. For as meikle as a greit part of the playfeild … is spoiled, broken and carriet away in speat and inundation of water.
1848. Clough, Bothie of Toper-na-Fuosich, I. 7. As sudden torrent in time of speat in the mountain.
1893. K. Simpson, Jeanie o’ Biggersdale, 51. The water rushed down … angrily in winter and in times of spate.
b. In (or † on) spate, in flood.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, II. vi. 14. Quhen the burne on spait hurlis doun the bank.
1567. Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.), 111. Lyke burnis that in spait fast rin.
1610. Aberdeen Reg. (1848), II. 299. The said burne, efter great rayne, being in spat, brak out oft and diuerse tymes be vehement force.
1803. Jamieson, Water-Kelpie, xxi. in Scott, Minstrelsy. Yestereen the water was in spate.
1860. G. H. K., Vac. Tour, 133. The burn, high in spate,… rattles harshly at our feet.
c. Broken or turbulent water characteristic of a river in flood. rare–1.
1884. W. Sime, To & Fro, 104. The Ilen … breaking into rough currents of brown ‘spate.’
3. attrib. and Comb., as spate river, water; spate-created adj.
1456. Sir G. Haye, Law Arms (S.T.S.), 115. The spate wateris of the grete mountanis may sudaynly cum till infest the ost and disloge thame.
1529. Registr. Aberdon. (Maitl. Cl.), I. 396. Gif it sall happin þe said brig be inundatioun of spaitt water weiring of grund be our inaduertence … to failȝe.
1901. Scotsman, 4 March, 10/2. Floods are of very short duration on those spate rivers.
1901. Pall Mall Gaz., 17 Sept., 6/2. Those spate-created runs at the heads of pools.
Hence Spate v. trans., to flood, swell; intr., to rain heavily. Also Spated ppl. a.
1827. Aikman, Hist. Scot., III. IV. 374. The speated Tweed came down heavy two days before.
1853. W. Watson, Poems, 26 (E.D.D.). Sheughs an’ deep fur-drains were jawin’ To spate the burns.
1866. Banffshire Gloss., 230. It spaitit on the hail nicht.
