Pitapats

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A quick, light tapping or beating sound often associated with a small rhythmic pulse such as a heartbeat or footsteps; the act of lightly hitting repeatedly in a rapid manner; a swift series of gentle impacts producing a soft noise resembling rapid drumming
2. The sensation or sound of rapid, gentle thumps typically felt in the chest when nervous or excited; a series of punctual, soft strikes made in quick succession; a pattern of swift, light noises that mimic a beating or fluttering effect
3. Describing a short, repeated sound of gentle beats often linked to emotions experienced through the heart or movement; the process of making a quick succession of faint taps; a subtle, fast-paced knocking sound characteristic of liveliness or anticipation

Etymology: "Pitapats" is the plural form of "pitapat," a word whose sound is its whole story. The noun and verb both describe rapid, light tapping, the kind a heart makes when it races or rain makes on a window. Because the word is built to imitate that sound, it is what linguists call an echoic or onomatopoeic formation, and its two halves repeat a single syllable with a changed vowel, the same pattern seen in "pitter-patter" and "tick-tock." The plural form simply records repeated instances of that tapping: several bursts of light footfalls, or a series of quick knocks. Here the grammar adds nothing new to the origin, which lies entirely in the imitation of the sound itself.

Synonyms: pitter-patters, drum beats, taps, patters, beats