scatter (skater)

[ He scatter eth the hoarfrost like ashes. Ps. cxlvii. 16. At the end of which time their bodies shall be consumed, and the winde shall scatter their ashes under the soles of the feet of the iust. Purchas , Pilgrimage, p. 182. Scattered wide the seeds, Lies, and words half true, of the bitterest deeds. William Morris, Earthly Paradise, II. 327. 2. To besprinkle or strew as with something thrown here and there. Where cattle pastured late, now scatter'd lies With carcases and arms the ensanguined field. Milton , P. L., xi. 653. 3. To separate and drive off in disorder and in all directions; rout; put to disorderly retreat or flight; disperse; di ipate: as, to scat ter an enemy's forces; to scatter a mob. I'll find some cunning practice out of hand To scatter and disperse the giddy Goths. Shak., Tit. And., v. 2. 78. I leave the rest of all my Goods to my first-born Edward, to be consumed or scattered . Howell, Letters, I. vi. 17. Our Fleet being thus scattered , there were now no hopes of getting together again. Dampier , Voyages, I. 38. In order that a surface may be illuminated at all, it must be capable of scattering light, i. e., it must be to some P. G. Tait , Encyc. Brit., XIV. 583. extent opaque. The cavalgada was frequently broken, and scattered among the rugged defiles of the mountains; and above five you sand of the cattle turned back, and were regained by the Christians. Irving , Granada, p. 82. Hence-4. To throw into confusion; overthrow; dispel; put to flight: as, to scatter hopes, fears, plans, etc. So doth God scatter the counsells of his enemies, and taketh the wise in their craft in e e. Purchas , Pilgrimage, p. 45. No one did more to scatter the ancient superstitions than Cicero. Lecky , Europ. Morals, I. 430. 5t. To let fall as by accident or at random; drop. It is directed to you; some love-letter, on my life, that Luce hath scatterd . The Wizard , a Play, 1640, MS. ( Nares .) =Syn. 1. To diffuse, spread, distribute.-3 and 4. Dis perse , Dispel , etc. See di ipate . II. in trans. 1. To separate and disperse; proceed in different directions; hence, to go hither and thither at random. The commons, like an angry hive of bees That want their leader, scatter up and down, And care not who they sting. Shak., 2 Hen. VI., iii. 2. 126. 2. Specifically, to throw shot too loosely or without concentration of the charge: said of a gun.