different between spot vs scratch

English

Etymology

From Middle English spot, spotte, partially from Middle Dutch spotte (“spot, speck”), and partially merging with Middle English splot, from Old English splott (“spot, plot of land”). Cognate with North Frisian spot (“speck, piece of ground”), Low German spot (“speck”), Old Norse spotti (“small piece”). See also splot, splotch.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /sp?t/
• Rhymes: -?t
• (US) IPA^(key): /sp?t/

Noun

spot (plural spots)

1. A round or irregular patch on the surface of a thing having a different color, texture etc. and generally round in shape.

   The leopard is noted for the spots of color in its fur.

   Why do ladybugs have spots?

2. A stain or disfiguring mark.

   I have tried everything, and I can’t get this spot out.

3. A pimple, papule or pustule.

   That morning, I saw that a spot had come up on my chin.

   I think she's got chicken pox; she's covered in spots.

4. A small, unspecified amount or quantity.

   Would you like to come round on Sunday for a spot of lunch?

5. (slang, US) A bill of five-dollar or ten-dollar denomination in dollars.

   Here's the twenty bucks I owe you, a ten spot and two five spots.

6. A location or area.

   I like to eat lunch in a pleasant spot outside.

   For our anniversary we went back to the same spot where we first met.

   • 1800, William Wordsworth, Hart-leap Well

     "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is curs'd."

   • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France [1]

     Yachvilli made it 6-0 with a second sweet strike from 45 metres after Matt Stevens was penalised for collapsing a scrum, and then slid another penalty just wide from the same spot.

7. A parking space.
8. (sports) An official determination of placement.

   The fans were very unhappy with the referee's spot of the ball.

9. A bright lamp; a spotlight.
10. (US, advertising) A brief advertisement or program segment on television.

    Did you see the spot on the news about the shoelace factory?

11. Difficult situation; predicament.

    She was in a real spot when she ran into her separated husband while on a date.

12. (gymnastics, dance, weightlifting) One who spots (supports or assists a maneuver, or is prepared to assist if safety dictates); a spotter.
13. (soccer) Penalty spot.
14. The act of spotting or noticing something.

    - You've misspelled "terrapin" here.

    - Whoops. Good spot.

15. A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called from a spot on its head just above the beak.
16. A food fish (Leiostomus xanthurus) of the Atlantic coast of the United States, with a black spot behind the shoulders and fifteen oblique dark bars on the sides.
17. The southern redfish, or red horse (Sciaenops ocellatus), which has a spot on each side at the base of the tail.
18. (in the plural, brokers' slang, dated) Commodities, such as merchandise and cotton, sold for immediate delivery.
19. An autosoliton.
20. (finance) A decimal point; point.

    Twelve spot two five pounds sterling. (ie. £12.25)

21. Any of various points marked on the table, from which balls are played, in snooker, pool, billiards, etc.
22. Any of the balls marked with spots in the game of pool, which one player aims to pot, the other player taking the stripes.

Hyponyms

• sitspot
• shot spot
• sweet spot

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Catalan: espot

Translations

Verb

spot (third-person singular simple present spots, present participle spotting, simple past and past participle spotted)

1. (transitive) To see, find; to pick out, notice, locate, distinguish or identify.
2. (finance) To loan a small amount of money to someone.

   I’ll spot you ten dollars for lunch.

3. (transitive, intransitive) To stain; to leave a spot (on).

   Hard water will spot if it is left on a surface.

   a garment spotted with mould

4. To remove, or attempt to remove, a stain.

   I spotted the carpet where the child dropped spaghetti.

5. To retouch a photograph on film to remove minor flaws.
6. (gymnastics, dance, weightlifting, climbing) To support or assist a maneuver, or to be prepared to assist if safety dictates.

   I can’t do a back handspring unless somebody spots me.

7. (dance) To keep the head and eyes pointing in a single direction while turning.

   Most figure skaters do not spot their turns like dancers do.

8. To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation.

   • Link not me in self same chain With the wicked-working folk, Who their spotted thoughts do cloak.

   • If ever I shall close these eyes but once, / May I live spotted for my perjury.

9. To cut or chip (timber) in preparation for hewing.
10. To place an object at a location indicated by a spot. Notably in billiards or snooker.

    The referee had to spot the pink on the blue spot.

Translations

Adjective

spot (not comparable)

1. (commerce, finance) Available on the spot; for immediate payment or delivery.

   spot wheat; spot cash; a spot contract

Translations

Anagrams

• OTPs, POST, POTS, PTOs, Post, TPOs, opts, post, post-, post., pots, stop, tops

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?sb??d?]

Etymology 1

From the verb spotte (“to mock”). Compare Old Norse spottr, German Spott.

Noun

spot c (singular definite spotten, not used in plural form)

1. mockery, ridicule
   • 2013, Jan Guillou, Vejen til Jerusalem, Modtryk ?ISBN

     Men at også den anden søn savnede alle mandlige dyder, var straks værre og gjorde spotten større.

     But that the other son, too, lacked all male virtues, was much worse and enlarged the mockery.

   • 2010, Tove Ditlevsen, Man gjorde et barn fortræd, Gyldendal A/S ?ISBN

     Hun havde råd til at smile igen, så ligegyldig var deres spot hende.

     She could afford to smile back, that was how little she cared about their ridicule.

   • 2015, Jørgen Christensen, Muhammed-tegningerne, demokratiet og sikkerhedspolitikken, BoD – Books on Demand ?ISBN, page 9

     I artiklen skrev kulturredaktør Flemming Rose bl.a., at muslimer måtte acceptere, at deres religiøse følelser blev udsat for hån, spot og latterliggørelse^[sic]:...

     In the article, editor of culture Flemming Rose wrote, among other things, that muslims had to accept their religious feelings being made the object of mockery, derision and ridicule:...

   • 2014, Fjodor M. Dostojevskij, Minder fra dødens hus, Bechs Forlag - Viatone ?ISBN

     Først sporede man hos alle en heftig forbitrelse, derefter en dyb nedslåethed, og endelig syntes al sindsbevægelse at vige pladsen for hoverende spot.

     At first, one saw with everyone a hefty bitterness, then a deep sadness, and finally, all emotion seemed to recede, making way for gloating mockery.

Inflection

Etymology 2

From English spot.

Noun

spot c or n (singular definite spotten or spottet, plural indefinite spot or spots)

1. spotlight
   • 1982, Lene H. Bagger, Idioterne, p. 179

     I millisekundet hvor lyset satte spots på hendes uforberedte ansigt, røbede det hende

     In the short moment when the light turned the spotlight on her unprepared face, it revealed her

2. spot (short advertisement in radio or TV)
   • 2012, Jyllands-Posten

     Lego meddeler, at deres juleomsætning overgik alle forventninger på grund af spottene i TV 2

     LEGO informs that their Christmas sale surpassed all expectations due to the spots on TV 2

Inflection

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

spot

1. imperative of spotte

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sp?t/
• Rhymes: -?t

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch spot, from Old Dutch *spot, from Proto-Germanic *spuþþaz.

Noun

spot m (uncountable)

1. mockery

   Synonyms: spotternij, plagerij, pesterij

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English spot.

Noun

spot m (plural spots, diminutive spotje n)

1. spot; a spotlight.
2. spot; a brief segment on television.

Anagrams

• post, stop

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English spot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sp?t/

Noun

spot m (plural spots)

1. (physics) light spot
2. blip (on radar)
3. (cinematography, theater) spotlight, spot
4. (surfing) area
5. (television) spot; a brief segment on television.

Further reading

• “spot” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• pots, stop

Indonesian

Etymology

From English spot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?sp?t]
• Hyphenation: spot

Noun

spot

1. (colloquial) spot, a location or area.

Further reading

• “spot” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology

From English spot.

Noun

spot m (invariable)

1. spot (theatrical light; luminous point; brief radio or TV advertisment)

Anagrams

• post, stop

Further reading

• spot in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *spot, from Proto-Germanic *sputtaz.

Noun

spot m or n

1. joke, jest
2. mockery, derision

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• spotten

Descendants

• Dutch: spot

Further reading

• “spot”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “spot”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English spot (“brief advertisement”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sp?t/

Noun

spot m inan

1. (neologism) spot, a short broadcast in television

Usage notes

Used for all short informational and promotional broadcasts, such as public service announcements, social campaigns, election ads and advertisements. The native counterpart reklama is restricted to advertisements.

Declension

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

spot m (genitive singular spoit, plural spotan)

1. spot, stain
2. spot, place

Synonyms

• (place): bad

Derived terms

• spot dall

Spanish

Noun

spot m (plural spots)

1. advert, ad

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English sport.

Noun

spot

1. sport

Volapük

Noun

spot (nominative plural spots)

1. sport

Declension

English

Etymology

From Middle English scracchen, of uncertain origin. Probably a blend of Middle English scratten (“to scratch”) and cracchen (“to scratch”). More at scrat and cratch.

Pronunciation

• enPR: skr?ch, IPA^(key): /sk?æt?/
• Rhymes: -æt?

Verb

scratch (third-person singular simple present scratches, present participle scratching, simple past and past participle scratched)

1. To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.
   • 1733, Jonathan Swift, On Poetry, a Rhapsody

     Be mindful, when invention fails, / To scratch your head, and bite your nails.

2. To rub the skin with rough material causing a sensation of irritation; to cause itching.
   1. For a man, when kissing someone, to irritate the skin of that person with one's unshaven beard.
3. To mark a surface with a sharp object, thereby leaving a scratch (noun).

4. To cross out, strike out, strike through some text on a page.
   1. Hence, to remove, ignore or delete.

5. (music) To produce a distinctive sound on a turntable by moving a vinyl record back and forth while manipulating the crossfader (see also scratching).
6. (billiards) To commit a foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.

7. (billiards, dated, US) To score, not by skillful play but by some fortunate chance of the game.
8. To write or draw hastily or awkwardly; scrawl.
9. (transitive, intransitive) To dig or excavate with the claws.

10. To dig or scrape (a person's skin) with claws or fingernails in self-defense or with the intention to injure.

Synonyms

• scrattle

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

scratch (countable and uncountable, plural scratches)

1. A disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching.
   • 1677-1684, Joseph Moxon, Mechanick Exercises

     The coarse file […] makes deep scratches in the work.

   • 1709, Matthew Prior, Henry and Emma, line 503

     These nails with scratches deform my breast.
2. An act of scratching the skin to alleviate an itch or irritation.

3. (sports)
   1. A starting line (originally and simply, a line scratched in the ground), as in boxing.

      (Can we find and add a quotation of Grose to this entry?)

   2. A technical error of touching or surpassing the starting mark prior to the official start signal in the sporting events of long jump, discus, hammer throw, shot put, and similar. Originally the starting mark was a scratch on the ground but is now a board or precisely indicated mark.
   3. (cycling) The last riders to depart in a handicap race.
   4. (billiards) An aberration.
      1. A foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.
      2. (archaic, US, slang) A shot which scores by chance and not as intended by the player; a fluke.
   5. (horse racing) A horse withdrawn from a race prior to the start.

4. (slang) Money.
   • 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador 2007, p. 153:

     He and Bruce cooked up a script together, and Bruce flew home to raise the scratch.

5. A feed, usually a mixture of a few common grains, given to chickens.
6. (in the plural) Minute, but tender and troublesome, excoriations, covered with scabs, upon the heels of horses which have been used where it is very wet or muddy.
   • 1887, James Law, The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser

     These are exemplified in the scurfy, scaly affections which appear in the bend of the knee (mallenders) and hock (sallenders) and on the lower parts of the limbs, by scratches, and by a scaly exfoliation […].

7. (now historical) A scratch wig.
   • 1775, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin 2001, 26 March:

     [H]e turned to him with a dejected Face, and said ‘ – pray Sir, – could you touch up This a little?’ taking hold of his frightful scratch.

8. (music) A genre of Virgin Islander music, better known as fungi.

Synonyms

• (Virgin Islander music): fungi, quelbe

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

scratch (not comparable)

1. For or consisting of preliminary or tentative, incomplete, etc. work.

2. Hastily assembled, arranged or constructed, from whatever materials are to hand, with little or no preparation
   • 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford 2004, p. 740:

     Bluecoats began crossing the James on June 14 and next day two corps approached Petersburg, which was held by Beauregard with a scratch force of 2,500.

3. (computing, from scratchpad) Relating to a data structure or recording medium attached to a machine for testing or temporary use.
4. (sports) (of a player) Of a standard high enough to play without a handicap, i.e. to compete without the benefit of a variation in scoring based on ability.

Derived terms

• scratch sheet

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “scratch”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• The Jargon File - Scratch

French

Etymology

From English scratch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sk?at?/

Noun

scratch m (plural scratchs)

1. Velcro

Synonyms

• velcro

Italian

Etymology

From English scratch.

Noun

scratch m (invariable)

1. (music) scratch

Spanish

Etymology

From English scratch.

Noun

scratch m (plural scratchs)

1. (music) scratch