Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: COLOURS AND SOUNDS

Sense: 1,3
Date: 1800-1900
Origin: PATTER1
Sense: 2
Date: 1700-1800
Origin: paternoster name of a Christian prayer (9-21 centuries)

patter

2 noun
     
patter2
1 [singular]C the sound made by something as it keeps hitting a surface lightly and quickly
patter of
the patter of footsteps
the pitter patter of raindrops
2 [singular, uncountable] fast, continuous, and usually amusing talk, used by someone telling jokes or trying to sell something:
It's difficult to look at the cars without getting the sales patter.
3

the patter of tiny feet

used humorously to mean that someone is going to have a baby:
Are we going to hear the patter of tiny feet?
Definition of patter from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic COLOURS AND SOUNDS
Word of the Day
The COLOURS AND SOUNDS
Word of the Day is:
rustle

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