qat

British  

/ kɑːt, kæt /

noun

1. a variant spelling of khat

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Explanation

Qat or "khat" are the leaves of an Arabian shrub that are chewed as a stimulant. Some people drink coffee, others chew qat. Go figure. Not to be confused with the strut-prone feline likely found licking itself clean under radiators, qat is a social drug that comes from the shrub Catha that grows high in Middle Eastern and African countries. It contains amphetamine that can make you hyperactive, manic, or anxious. Just like caffeine, qat can be addictive, but it's a heck of a Scrabble word. A "q" word without a "u" following it!

Example Sentences

The myth of Qat is a jungle of facetiae and frolic, with one or two serious incidents, such as the beginning of Death and the coming of Night.

From The Making of Religion by Lang, Andrew

In the Melanesian myth, dawn is cut out of the body of night by Qat, armed with a knife of red obsidian.

From Myth, Ritual and Religion — Volume 1 by Lang, Andrew

According to a Melanesian legend, told in Mota, one of the Banks Islands, the hero Qat moulded men of clay, the red clay from the marshy river-side at Vanua Lava.

From Darwin and Modern Science by Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)

Thus we saw that among the Melanesians, Qat, and among the Ahts, Quawteaht, were heroic persons, who made men and most other things.

From Myth, Ritual and Religion — Volume 1 by Lang, Andrew

Among corporeal Vuis the chief are the beings nearest to gods in Melanesian myths—the half god, half "culture-hero," I Qat, his eleven brothers, and his familiar and assistant, Marawa.

From Myth, Ritual And Religion, Vol. 2 (of 2) by Lang, Andrew