▪ I. vat, n.1
(væt)
Forms: 3 ueat, 3–4 uet, 5– vat, 4, 6 vatte, 8 vatt; 4–5 vaat, 4, 6–8 vate, 6 vaette.
[Southern variant of fat n.1 The long vowel in the obs. forms vaat, vate, is derived from the OE. pl. (fatu, etc.) or from late forms of the gen. and dat. sing. (fates, fate).]
1. a. A cask, tun, or other vessel used for holding or storing water, beer, or other liquid; usually one of some size in which a liquor, esp. beer or cider, undergoes fermentation or is prepared; † a vessel.
| a 1225 Juliana 31 Þe worldes wealdent þat wiste sein iuhan his ewanigeliste unhurt iþe ueat of wallinde eoli. 1340 Ayenb. 231 Hi bereþ a wel precious tresor ine a wel fyebble uet. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 5695 An Archebysschop..bad hym ordeyne an huge vaat, Ful of water clere. 1399 Acc. Exch. K.R. 473/11 m. 2 Pro xxiiij circulis ligneis emptis ad diuers[os] vattes et cowelys inde ligandis pro aqua in eisdem conseruanda. 14.. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 577 Cuva, a cuve or a vaat. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 465 Canels or pipis, wynes forth to lede Into the vat & tonnys, make also. 1552 Huloet, Vat, or fat, a vessell for water, ale, bere, or any licour, labrum. 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. Captaines 745 Each grape to weep, and crimsin streams to spin Into the Vate, set to receive them in. 1662 Charleton Myst. Vintners (1675) 194 A clean and strongly-scented Cask or Vate. 1697 Prior Ep. Sir F. Sheppard 41 My Uncle..Might have..Taught me with Cyder to replenish My Vats or ebbing Tide of Rhenish. 1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 18 Would'st thou, thy Vats with gen'rous Juice should froth? Respect thy Orchats. 1781 Johnson in Boswell 5 Apr., We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats. 1830 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. I. 169 This fermenting tun is an immense circular vat or tub bound with strong iron hoops, and covered in at all parts. 1872 Yeats Techn. Hist. Comm. 237 For the large circular vats in which the ale was formerly fermented, slate tuns have been recently substituted. |
| Comb. 1611 Cotgr., Cuvelier, a vat-maker, or tub-maker. |
b. A vessel, cauldron, or cistern containing the liquid used in dyeing or some other process.
| 1548 Elyot, Ahenum, a great vatte, wherein purple is dyed. 1632 Sherwood s.v., A dying Vat, cuvier. 1738 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Dying Ingredients, Dying materials..applied..by only dipping the stuff in the vat of dye. 1788 Trans. Soc. Arts VI. 165 (Papermaking), Having prepared the stuff, chest and vatt, quite clean, I chopt the clean bark or first preparation [etc.]. 1791 W. Hamilton Berthollet's Dyeing I. Introd. p. ii, The Stuffs..were immersed in vats, where they received various colours. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 366 The large vat or cistern [of a paper-mill], A A, is of an oblong figure on the outside. 1832 Porcelain & Glass 38 When the flints are thus sufficiently ground, the semi-fluid is transferred to another vat. 1873 Hamerton Intell. Life xii. i. 432 Every locality is like a dyer's vat, the residents take its colour. |
† c. = fat n.1 1 b.
Obs. rare.
| 1507 Pilton Churchw. Acc. (Som. Rec. Soc.) 53 Item an oyle vatte of sylver. |
† d. A cask or tub used as a receptacle for refuse or filth.
Obs.| 1534–5 MS. Rawl. D. 77 fol. 67 b, The vaettes that convayeth the Rubbysch frome the great Kechyn. 1536 Ibid., Skoryng and makyng clean the Vattes of the Comen Jakes..with other vattes with in the said castell. |
2. In various special uses:
a. = cheese-vat.
| 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 334 Vallor, or Vallow, or Vate, a concave Mould wherein a Cheese is pressed. 1860 All Year Round No. 51. 19 The next step taken was to get a proper ‘vat’ and ‘follower’ made of solid mahogany. |
b. Tanning.
= tan-vat.
| 1777 Phil. Trans. LXVIII. 115 Until they think proper to lay it away in the Vatts. In these holes, which are the largest in the tan-yard, the leather is spread out smooth. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. III. 2490/1 The tan-yard contains a number of wooden-lined vats, whose tops are level with the..ground. 1885 Harper's Mag. Jan. 276/1 The hides are placed..in vats filled with a dissolved excrement. |
c. Cornwall. (See
quot.)
| 1778 Pryce Min. Cornub. 225 Upon the top of the arch or back of the calciner, is made a square hollow place called a Vate or Dry, sufficient to contain a serving or hand barrow full of Tin. |
d. Mining. (See
quots.)
| 1802 J. Mawe Min. Derby Gloss., Vat, a wooden tub used to wash ore and mineral substances. 1872 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 253 Outside of the building the pulp runs first into vats, where the heavier portion settles and the rest goes into the creek. 1888 F. Hume Mme. Midas i. v, The wash was carried along in the trucks from the top of the shaft to the puddlers, which were large circular vats into which water was constantly gushing. |
e. Salt making. A salt-pit (see
quots.).
| 1860 Maury Phys. Geog. (Low) ii. 22 There is a series of vats or pools through which the water is passed as it comes from the sea, and is reduced to the briny state. 1861 J. H. Bennet Shores Medit. (1875) i. v. 143 The vats or pools into which the sea-water is received for evaporation. |
3. a. A cask, barrel, or other vessel for holding or storing dry goods;
= fat n.1 3.
| 1766 Entick London IV. 328 Their business being to attend each ship, to top the vats, and to return an account of the coals measured. 1825 Hone Every-day Bk. I. 741 The arrival of a vat of Hambro' yarn. Ibid., The inhabitants met the waggon,..decorated the vat with ribands,..and drew the same through the village. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artill. Man. (1862) 159 The horses are to be taken out; the harness..packed in vats. |
† b. Formerly used as a measure of capacity for coal (see
quots. and
fat n.1 4).
Obs.| 1708 Constit. Watermen's Co. xlii, It is agreed and order'd, that all Lightermen selling Coals, shall sell Pool⁓measure,..That is to say, One and Twenty Chaldron to the Score, or otherwise to sell the same Measure each person buys, (provided the Parcel be Five Chaldron and a Vatt at the least). 1763 Ann. Reg. 64 Importation of coals into the port of London in the year 1762, amounting to 570,774 chaldrons and one vat. 1821 Acc. Peculations Coal Trade 5 The measure used in the pool is by vat; this contains nine bushels heaped. |
† c. (See
quot.)
Obs.| 1730 Bailey (fol.), Fat, Vat, (of Merchandise) an uncertain quantity, as of yarn, from 210 to 211 bundles; of wire, from 20 to 25 pound weight, &c. |
4. Dyeing. The liquid solution in which the material to be dyed is immersed; the dyeing liquor. Usually with defining term.
| 1755 Dict. Arts & Sci. II. 998/2 Lime is much used in working blue-vats. Ibid. 1000/2 The blue vats in deep blues of the fifth stall, give no considerable weight. 1765 indigo vat [see indigo C. 1]. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 415 In this vat, the immediate principles..perform the dis⁓oxidizing function of the copperas in the cold vat. Ibid., The pastel vats require most skill..in consequence of their complexity. 1868 Watts Dict. Chem. III. 251 Copperas or common blue vat. Ibid. 252 An excess of lime yields a sharp vat;..too little lime yields a soft vat. 1900 Jrnl. Soc. Dyers XVI. 8 A vat prepared with caustic soda. |
5. attrib., as
vat-room;
vat colour = vat dye;
vat dye,
dyestuff, a water-insoluble dye that is applied in a reducing bath that converts it to a soluble leuco-form with affinity for the fibre, the colour being obtained upon subsequent oxidation; so
vat-dyed a.;
vat dyeing vbl. n.;
vat-man,
Papermaking, a workman who lifts the pulp from the vat and moulds the sheets of paper; a dipper or maker;
vat-net (see
quot.);
vat-press,
Papermaking, a press in which the sheets are placed after they leave the vat.
| 1912 L. A. Olney in A. Rogers Industr. Chem. xxxviii. 768 The reduction *vat colors have come into great prominence during recent years owing to their great resistance to practically all of the color destroying agencies. 1947 Kirk & Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol. I. 968 With respect to all-around tinctorial and fastness properties, vat colors have no peer in any class of dyes. |
| 1903 C. Salter tr. G. von Georgievics's Chem. Dye-Stuffs 4 *Vat Dyes..have no affinity for textile fibres, and can only be fixed thereon by reduction or subsequent oxidation. 1981 H. Gutjahr in L. W. C. Miles Textile Printing v. 159 Vat dyes provide a wide range of colours of good all⁓round fastness properties, but great care, or specialized equipment, is required for their successful use. |
| 1946 M. R. Fox Vat Dyestuffs & Vat Dyeing iv. 55 (heading) Fastness tests for *vat-dyed wool and silk. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 22 Mar. (Suppl.) 11/2 These vat-dyed, colour-fast, 48in wide cotton furnishing materials, are identically patterned on both sides. |
| 1912 L. A. Olney in A. Rogers Industr. Chem. xxxviii. 756 The alkaline bath of indigo white is commonly called an indigo vat, and this process of coloring is usually spoken of as *vat dyeing. 1946 M. R. Fox (title) Vat dyestuffs and vat dyeing. |
| 1914 F. W. Atack tr. Wahl's Manuf. Organic Dyestuffs xix. 220 For a long time the *vat-dyestuffs were limited to Indigo, its derivatives, and the Indophenols. 1973 Materials & Technol. VI. vii. 488 Nylon shows very little affinity for the vat dyestuffs. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 927 Meanwhile the *vat-man puts the deckel upon the other mould. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 225/1 The vatman takes up enough pulp on the mould to fill the deckle. |
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 921/1 *Vat net, used as a strainer over a tub or tank. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 931, 1 Man..in keeping in order 7 vats, *vat-presses, &c. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVII. 209/1 This post..is placed in the vat-press, and subjected to a strong pressure to force out the superfluous water. |
| 1843 Tizard Brewing xix. 464 Where the trade is extensive, and *vat-room is of consequent importance. |
Hence
ˈvatful.
| 1632 Sherwood, A vat-full, cuvée. 1862 Sat. Rev. XIII. 411/1 By the sudden interposition of a vat-full of pale ale details. |
▪ II. vat, v. (
væt)
[f. vat n.1] trans. a. To place or store in a vat.
| 1784 Twamley Dairying Exemplified 48 Many people as soon as the Whey is removed immediately break the Curd small..and then put it into the Cheese Vat... I would always recommend that it rest one quarter of an Hour, before 'tis broke or vatted. 1862 Chambers's Encycl. IV. 727/1 The factitious compound being mixed or vatted with the wines in bond. 1880 Act 43 & 44 Vict. c. 24 §64 (1) The proprietor of spirits..may..vat, blend, or rack them in the warehouse. |
b. To immerse in a dyeing solution or vat.
| 1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts Ser. ii. 210/2 The goods are next limed, vatted to shade, taken out. |
▪ III. vat southern
ME. and
dial. var. fat a.;
obs. Sc. f. wot wit v.