Patter definition
To move with quick, light, softly audible steps.
verb
To cause to patter.
verb
A quick succession of light soft tapping sounds.
The patter of rain on the rooftops.
noun
To speak or chatter glibly and rapidly.
verb
To mumble prayers in a mechanical manner.
verb
Advertisement
To utter in a glib, rapid, or mechanical manner.
verb
The jargon of a particular group; cant.
noun
Glib rapid speech, as of an auctioneer, salesperson, or comedian.
noun
Meaningless talk; chatter.
noun
To make a patter.
verb
Advertisement
To run or move along so as to make a patter.
verb
A series of quick, light taps.
The patter of rain on leaves.
noun
To speak or mumble rapidly or glibly; recite (prayers, etc.) mechanically or thoughtlessly.
verb
Language peculiar to a group, class, etc., and not generally understood by outsiders; cant; jargon.
noun
The glib, rapid speech of salespeople, comedians, magicians, etc.
noun
Advertisement
Idle, meaningless chatter.
noun
A person or thing that pats.
noun
The soft sound of feet walking on a hard surface.
I could hear the patter of mice running about in the dark.
noun
To make irregularly repeated sounds of low-to-moderate magnitude and lower-than-average pitch.
The bullets pattered into the log-cabin walls.
verb
To speak in such a way - glibly and rapidly, such as from an auctioneer, or when bantering during a sports event.
verb
To make a quick succession of light soft tapping sounds.
Rain pattered steadily against the glass.
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
patter
Plural:
pattersOrigin of patter
- Middle English pateren shortening and alteration of paternoster paternoster (from the mechanical and rapid recitation of the prayer) paternoster
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Frequentative of pat
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Circa 1400, from paternoster (“the Lord's prayer"), possibly influenced by imitative sense (above), Latin pater (“father"), from Proto-Indo-European *phâ‚‚tḗr.
From Wiktionary
- 1610s, pat +"Ž -er (“frequentative (indicating repeated action)"), of (onomatopoeia) origin.
From Wiktionary
- Noun attested 1758, originally referring to the cant of thieves and beggers.
From Wiktionary
- pat +"Ž -er (“agent")
From Wiktionary