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chat

 

  6  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Chat  \Chat\,  n. 
  1.  A  twig,  cone,  or  little  branch.  See  {Chit}. 
 
  2.  pl  (Mining)  Small  stones  with  ore. 
 
  {Chat  potatoes},  small  potatoes,  such  as  are  given  to  swine. 
  [Local.] 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Chat  \Chat\,  v.  i.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Chatted};  p.  pr  &  vb  n. 
  {Chatting}.]  [From  {Chatter}.  [root]22.] 
  To  talk  in  a  light  and  familiar  manner;  to  converse  without 
  form  or  ceremony;  to  gossip.  --Shak. 
 
  To  chat  a  while  on  their  adventures.  --Dryden. 
 
  Syn:  To  talk;  chatter;  gossip;  converse. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Chat  \Chat\,  v.  t. 
  To  talk  of  [Obs.] 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Chat  \Chat\,  n. 
  1.  Light,  familiar  talk;  conversation;  gossip. 
 
  Snuff,  or  fan,  supply  each  pause  of  chat,  With 
  singing,  laughing,  ogling,  and  all  that  --Pope. 
 
  2.  (Zo["o]l.)  A  bird  of  the  genus  {Icteria},  allied  to  the 
  warblers,  in  America.  The  best  known  species  are  the 
  yellow-breasted  chat  ({I.  viridis}),  and  the  long-tailed 
  chat  ({I.  longicauda}).  In  Europe  the  name  is  given  to 
  several  birds  of  the  family  {Saxicolid[ae]},  as  the 
  {stonechat},  and  {whinchat}. 
 
  {Bush  chat}.  (Zo["o]l.)  See  under  {Bush}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  chat 
  n  1:  an  informal  conversation  [syn:  {confab},  {confabulation}] 
  2:  birds  having  a  chattering  call  [syn:  {New  World  chat}] 
  3:  songbirds  having  a  chattering  call  [syn:  {Old  World  chat}] 
  v  :  chew  the  fat;  shoot  the  breeze  [syn:  {confabulate},  {confab}, 
  {chitchat},  {chatter},  {chaffer},  {natter},  {gossip},  {jaw}, 
  {claver},  {visit}] 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  chat 
 
  tool,  networking,  messaging>  Any  system  that  allows  any 
  number  of  logged-in  users  to  have  a  typed,  real-time,  on-line 
  conversation,  either  by  all  users  logging  into  the  same 
  computer,  or  more  commonly  nowadays,  via  a  {network}. 
 
  The  medium  of  {chat}  is  descended  from  {talk},  but  the  terms 
  (and  the  media)  have  been  distinct  since  at  least  the  early 
  1990s.  {talk}  is  prototypically  for  a  small  number  of  people, 
  generally  with  no  provision  for  {channels}.  In  {chat} 
  systems,  however,  there  are  many  {channels}  in  which  any 
  number  of  people  can  talk;  and  users  may  send  private 
  (one-to-one)  messages. 
 
  Some  well  known  chat  systems  to  date  (1998)  include  {IRC}, 
  {ICQ}  and  {Palace}. 
 
  Chat  systems  have  given  rise  to  a  distinctive  style  combining 
  the  immediacy  of  talking  with  all  the  precision  (and 
  verbosity)  that  written  language  entails.  It  is  difficult  to 
  communicate  inflection,  though  conventions  have  arisen  to  help 
  with  this 
 
  The  conventions  of  chat  systems  include  special  items  of 
  jargon,  generally  abbreviations  meant  to  save  typing,  which 
  are  not  used  orally.  E.g.,  {re},  {BCNU},  {BBL},  {BTW},  {CUL}, 
  {FWIW},  {FYA},  {FYI},  {IMHO},  {OTT},  {TNX},  {WRT},  {WTF}, 
  {WTH},  {},  {},  {BBL},  {HHOK},  {NHOH},  {ROTFL},  {AFK}, 
  {b4},  {TTFN},  {TTYL},  {OIC},  {re}. 
 
  Much  of  the  chat  style  is  identical  to  (and  probably  derived 
  from)  {Morse  code}  jargon  used  by  ham-radio  amateurs  since  the 
  1920s,  and  there  is  not  surprisingly,  some  overlap  with  {TDD} 
  jargon.  Most  of  the  jargan  was  in  use  in  {talk}  systems. 
  Many  of  these  expressions  are  also  common  in  {Usenet}  {news} 
  and  {electronic  mail}  and  some  have  seeped  into  popular 
  culture,  as  with  {emoticons}. 
 
  The  {MUD}  community  uses  a  mixture  of  {emoticons},  a  few  of 
  the  more  natural  of  the  old-style  {talk  mode}  abbreviations, 
  and  some  of  the  social"  list  above;  specifically,  MUD 
  respondents  report  use  of  {BBL},  {BRB},  {LOL},  {b4},  {BTW}, 
  {WTF},  {TTFN},  and  {WTH}.  The  use  of  "{re}"  or  rehi"  is  also 
  common;  in  fact  MUDders  are  fond  of  "re-"  compounds  and  will 
  frequently  rehug"  or  rebonk"  (see  {bonk/oif})  people.  In 
  general,  though,  MUDders  express  a  preference  for  typing 
  things  out  in  full  rather  than  using  abbreviations;  this  may 
  be  due  to  the  relative  youth  of  the  MUD  cultures,  which  tend 
  to  include  many  touch  typists.  Abbreviations  specific  to  MUDs 
  include:  {FOAD},  ppl  (people),  THX  (thanks),  UOK?  (are  you 
  OK?). 
 
  Some  {BIFF}isms  (notably  the  variant  spelling  "d00d")  and 
  aspects  of  {ASCIIbonics}  appear  to  be  passing  into  wider  use 
  among  some  subgroups  of  MUDders  and  are  already  pandemic  on 
  {chat}  systems  in  general. 
 
  See  also  {hakspek}. 
 
  {Suck  article  "Screaming  in  a  Vacuum" 
  (http://www.suck.com/daily/96/10/23/)}. 
 
  (1998-01-25)




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