pitter-patter en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈpɪt.ɚˈpæt.ɚ/ (General-American)
- /ˈpɪt.əˈpæt.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Reduplication of patter.
Meanings
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(uncountable) A soft, percussive sound, as of tiny feet, or of rain on a rooftop; patter.
Pitter-patter the rain falling down / Little glamor sun coming round / Take a walk when autumn comes to town
1973, Van Morrison, “Autumn Song”:This yearning to hear the pitter-patter of penguin feet is no sudden whim. When a teen-ager, I entertained thoughts of the two of us walking side-by-side on the beach or strolling through shopping centers. As time passed, I knew I must take action or go penguinless through life.
1970 April 19, Pat McDonnell, “Project Penguin fowls out”, in Independent Press-Telegram, volume 19, number 36, Long Beach, Calif., →OCLC, page W-1, column 2:Once or twice I heard a faint pitter-patter like the feet of the dog going hither and thither on the sand far below me, and there were more bird-like sounds, but that was all.
1895–1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Stillness”, in The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, published 1898, →OCLC, book II (The Earth under the Martians), page 237:
Translations (15)
ja しとしと (soft percussive sound) · es golpeteo (soft percussive sound) · vi lộp độp (soft percussive sound) · bn রিমঝিম (soft percussive sound) · es palpitaciones (soft percussive sound) · fr clapotis (soft percussive sound) · de Getapse (soft percussive sound) · it scalpiccìo (soft percussive sound) · vi bôm bốp (soft percussive sound) · it picchiettìo (soft percussive sound) · ja ぱたぱたと (soft percussive sound) · fr tapotement (soft percussive sound) · fi ropina (soft percussive sound) · ur رِم جِھم (soft percussive sound) · fi tepsutus (soft percussive sound)