Clak

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Idle talk or gossip, often spread by people who enjoy repeating news about others ; a sharp, rattling noise made when hard objects knock together
2. Chatter that passes between people with little substance, especially tittle-tattle ; a quick, harsh clatter produced by something striking another object
3. Gossipy talk exchanged idly among people ; a brisk, rattling clack of hard surfaces meeting one another

Etymology: Before it named a sound, this word meant idle talk. In Scots, "clak" (also spelled "clack") was used for gossip and chatter, and a person who gossiped was a "clakker." Its sense rests on the same imitative root as the sound of a rattling tongue or clattering mill, and the word is related to the Middle English "clakken," meaning to chatter, and to Dutch "klakken," meaning to clap or smack. Because it is a spoken, dialect form, its first appearances in writing are hard to date precisely, so the earliest records are best treated as uncertain. The meaning of rapid, noisy talk is the older and more central one, and the sense of a sharp, clicking sound developed alongside it.