Forms: 3 chatere, 6– chatter. [f. prec. vb.]
1. The chattering of certain birds; also of apes, etc.: see the vb.
a. 1250. Owl & Night., 284. Mid chavling and mid chatere.
1784–99. Cowper, Pairing-time, 15. And with much twitter, and much chatter, Began to agitate the matter.
1797. Bewick, Brit. Birds (1885), I. 123. Its note of anger is very loud and harsh, between a chatter and shriek.
2. Incessant talk of a trivial kind; prate, tattle.
1851. Longf., Gold. Leg., VI. Sch. Salerno. Your words are but idle and empty chatter.
1856. Emerson, Eng. Traits, Religion, Wks. (Bohn), II. 100. The chatter of French politics … had quite put most of the old legends out of mind.
3. Comb., as chatter-house; chatter-bag, -basket, dial. variants of CHATTERBOX, q.v.; † chatter-chitter, small talk, gossip (cf. chitter-chatter); chatter-pie, familiar name for the Magpie; also fig. = chatterbox; chatter-water (humorous), tea.
1888. Elworthy, W. Somerset Gloss., *Chatter-bag.
1875. Lanc. Gloss., *Chatter-basket, an incessant talker; gen. applied to a child.
1711. Wentworth Papers, 207. You bid me send you all the *Chatter-Chitter I heard.
1611. Speed, Hist. Gt. Brit., VI. xxvi. (1623), 120/1. A *Chatter-house [ed. 1632 Charter-] for women to meet & determine of their Attires.
1721–1800. Bailey, *Chatter-pie, a kind of bird.
1888. [Common in dial. Glossaries].
1863. Mrs. Toogood, Yorksh. Dial., s.v., What a time you sit over your *chatter-watter.
