Spat: A short gaiter worn over the instep and reaching only a little way above the ankle, usually fastened under the foot by means of a strap. Chiefly in plural.
This definition is from the Oxford English Dictionary which has as its aim the identification of the first and the evolving use of words in the English language.
I comes across spats in P. G. Wodehouse novels from the first third or so the 20th Century. They are worn in these novels by silly, but good-natured young men with inherited money and without jobs which gives them lots of time to have ridiculous adventures and get into all kinds of social troubles.
I had not idea that the first use of the word was in 1802, nor that the word was an abbreviations of the word spatterdashes which sounds adorable even if it referred to the spattering of mud and muck that landed on them from walking on unpaved streets. To me, Spatterdash sounds like a good name for a small dog with spots, preferably a friendly little spaniel.
