Patness

[pat] /pæt/

adjective
1.
exactly to the point or purpose; apt; opportune:
a pat solution to a problem.
2.
excessively glib; unconvincingly facile:
His answers were too pat to suit the examining board.
3.
learned, known, or mastered perfectly or exactly:
to have something pat.
adverb
4.
exactly or perfectly.
5.
aptly; opportunely.
Idioms
6.
down pat, mastered or learned perfectly:
If you’re an actor, you have to get your lines down pat.
Also, down cold.
7.
stand pat,

/pæt/
verb pats, patting, patted
1.
to hit (something) lightly with the palm of the hand or some other flat surface: to pat a ball
2.
to slap (a person or animal) gently, esp on the back, as an expression of affection, congratulation, etc
3.
(transitive) to shape, smooth, etc, with a flat instrument or the palm
4.
(intransitive) to walk or run with light footsteps
5.
(informal) pat someone on the back, to congratulate or encourage someone
noun
6.
a light blow with something flat
7.
a gentle slap
8.
a small mass of something: a pat of butter
9.
the sound made by a light stroke or light footsteps
10.
(informal) pat on the back, a gesture or word indicating approval or encouragement
/pæt/
adverb
1.
Also off pat. exactly or fluently memorized or mastered: he recited it pat
2.
opportunely or aptly
3.
stand pat

adjective
4.
exactly right for the occasion; apt: a pat reply
5.
too exactly fitting; glib: a pat answer to a difficult problem
6.
exactly right: a pat hand in poker
/pæt/
noun
1.
(Austral, informal) on one’s pat, alone; on one’s own
/pæt/
noun
1.
an informal name for an Irishman
n.

c.1400, “a blow, stroke,” perhaps originally imitative of the sound of patting. Meaning “light tap with hand” is from c.1804. Sense of “that which is formed by patting” (as in pat of butter) is 1754, probably from the verb. Pat on the back in the figurative sense attested by 1804.
adv.

“aptly, suitably, at the right time,” 1570s, perhaps from pat (adj.) in sense of “that which hits the mark,” a special use from pat (n.) in sense of “a hitting” of the mark. The modern adjective is 1630s, from the adverb.
v.

1560s, “to hit, throw;” meaning “to tap or strike lightly” is from 1714; from pat (n.). Related: Patted; patting. The nursery rhyme phrase pat-a-cake is known from 1823. Alternative patty-cake (usually American English) is attested from 1794 (in “Mother Goose’s Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle,” Worcester, Mass.).

as a fem. proper name, short for Patricia. As a masc. proper name, short for Patrick; hence a nickname for any Irishman.
point after touchdown
In addition to the idiom beginning with pat