SCATTER

I. verb Etymology: Middle English scateren, schateren to disperse, break up, destroy; akin to Middle Dutch schaderen to ~ Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to cause to separate widely, to cause to vanish, to fling away heedlessly ; squander , to distribute irregularly, to sow by casting in all directions ; strew , 5. to reflect irregularly and diffusely, to cause (a beam of radiation) to diffuse or disperse, to divide into ineffectual small portions, intransitive verb to separate and go in various directions ; disperse , to occur or fall irregularly or at random, ~er noun Synonyms: see: ~ II. noun Date: 1642 the act of ~ing, a small quantity or number irregularly distributed or strewn about ; ~ing , the state or extent of being ~ed