Lexic.us

Definition of Pitter-patter

1. Adverb. As of footsteps. "He came running pit-a-pat down the hall"

2. Verb. Rain gently. "It has only sprinkled, but the roads are slick"

3. Noun. A series of rapid tapping sounds. "She missed the pitter-patter of little feet around the house"

4. Adverb. Describing a rhythmic beating. "His heart went pit-a-pat"

5. Verb. Make light, rapid and repeated sounds. "Gently pattering rain"

Definition of Pitter-patter

1. Noun. A soft, percussive sound, as of tiny feet or rain on a rooftop. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Pitter-patter

pitstop pitta pitta bread pittacal pittance pittance payment pittances pittas pitted pitted-shelled turtle

pitted keratolysis pitted tubeshoulder pitted tubeshoulders pitten pitter pitter-patter (current term) pittered pittering pitters pittie

pitties pitting pitting corrosion pitting oedema pittings pittite pittites pittle pittle-pattle pittled

Literary usage of Pitter-patter

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (1850)
"pitter-patter. To go pit-a-pat; to be»t pit. Chesh. FITTER. (1) To grieve. (2) To squeak. East. incessantly; to palpitate. North. ..."

2. Here and Now Story Book: Two-to Seven Year Olds; Experimental Stories by Lucy Sprague Mitchell (1921)
"You could hear them as they beat,—pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter down the street. When he came to the end of this block, he started across the ..."

3. The Picturesque Geographical Readers by Charles Francis King (1889)
"pitter-patter " Oh, where do you come from, You little drops of rain, pitter-patter, pitter-patter, Down the window pane? " They won't let me walk, ..."

4. An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language: To which is Prefixed, a by John Jamieson (1880)
"[To pitter-patter, ». n. 1. To patter backwards and forwards, or out and in doors ; to continue pattering ; generally applied to children, Clydes. 2. ..."

5. Nature in Verse: A Poetry Reader for Children by Mary Isabella Lovejoy (1895)
"You little drops of rain, pitter-patter, pitter-patter, Down the window-pane ? ... Tell me, little rain-drops, Is that the way you play, pitter-patter, ..."

6. The Silver-Burdett Readers by Ella Marie Powers, Thomas Minard Balliet (1906)
"pitter-patter, pitter-patter, On the window-pane; 0 where do you come from, ... Little rain drops cannot speak; But "pitter-patter-pat" Means, ..."

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