Etymograph

English

chatter

Chatter comes from Middle English chateren, and goes back to cheteren.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cheteren1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chateren1
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592chatter1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English chatter
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “That teacheth trickes eleuen and twentie long, / To…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cheterenWiktionary, English chatter
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chaterenWiktionary, English chatter
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592chatterWiktionary, English chatter. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “That teacheth trickes eleuen and twentie long, / To…”

Every English word from Middle English cheteren

Today it means

noun Talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “chatter”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English cheteren / chatter

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