patter

English edit

1610s, pat +‎ -er (“frequentative (indicating repeated action)”),^[1] of (onomatopoeia) origin.

patter (plural patters)

A soft repeated sound, as of rain falling, or feet walking on a hard surface.
I could hear the patter of mice running about in the dark.
- 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 7, in The Dust of Conflict‎^[1]:
  The patter of feet, and clatter of strap and swivel, seemed to swell into a bewildering din, but they were almost upon the fielato offices, where the carretera entered the town, before a rifle flashed.

soft repeated sound

Bulgarian: барабанене n (barabanene), трополене (bg) n (tropolene)
Czech: ťukání n, pleskání n, klapot m
Dutch: getrippel (nl)
Finnish: tepsutus (fi)
German: Trippeln n
Italian: picchiettio
Russian: то́пот (ru) m (tópot), топота́ние (ru) n (topotánije)
Spanish: pisada (es) f
Ukrainian: стукіт m (stukit), тупотіння n (tupotinnja), дріботіння n (dribotinnja)

patter (third-person singular simple present patters, present participle pattering, simple past and past participle pattered)

To make irregularly repeated sounds of low-to-moderate magnitude and lower-than-average pitch.
The bullets pattered into the log-cabin walls.
- 1728, James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:
  The stealing shower […] 'Tis scarce to patter heard.
To spatter; to sprinkle.
- 1819 (published in 1835) Joseph Rodman Drake, s:The Culprit Fay
  Patter the water about the boat.

to make irregularly repeated sounds

Circa 1400, from paternoster (“the Lord's prayer”),^[1] possibly influenced by imitative sense (above), Latin pater (“father”), from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr.

Noun attested 1758, originally referring to the cant of thieves and beggers.^[1]

patter (countable and uncountable, plural patters)

glib and rapid speech

patter (third-person singular simple present patters, present participle pattering, simple past and past participle pattered)

To speak glibly and rapidly, as does an auctioneer or a sports commentator.
- 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor; […], volume I (The London Street-folk. Book the First.), London: [George Woodfall], →OCLC, page 379:
  He showed a little of the pride of art in describing the management of his business, but he would not hear that he “pattered:” he talked to his customers, he declared, as any draper, who knew his business well, might talk to his.
(intransitive, obsolete) To repeat the Lord's Prayer.
(intransitive, obsolete) To pray.
(transitive, obsolete) To repeat hurriedly; to mutter.

to speak glibly and rapidly

Bulgarian: дърдоря (bg) (dǎrdorja)
Finnish: paukuttaa (fi)
German: plappern (de)
Hungarian: pörög a nyelve
Russian: тарато́рить (ru) impf (taratóritʹ), говори́ть скорогово́ркой impf (govorítʹ skorogovórkoj), треща́ть (ru) impf (treščátʹ) (colloquial)
Spanish: parlotear (es)

pat +‎ -er (“agent”)

patter (plural patters)

One who pats.
- 1981, Jackie Cooper, Richard Kleiner, Please Shoot Dog, page 50:
  I used to hate head patters, and I have realized that all children dislike being patted on the head.