Plash

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /plæʃ/

Definitions

1. The act of making a noise by striking or disturbing a liquid surface typically occurs during playful or vigorous interaction with water
2. A forceful interaction with a liquid that produces sound and splatter, often associated with energetic activities in water
3. A sudden sound made by a liquid being struck or disturbed often during energetic play

Etymology: The sound comes first. Before "plash" meant anything like a splash of water, it was a pool: Late Old English "plæsc" or "plesc" named a puddle or standing water, and the noun is attested earlier than the verb. The word is probably onomatopoeic, imitating the noise of water being struck, and its relatives across the North Sea reflect the same sound. German "platschen" means to splash, Dutch "plassen" means to splash or splatter, and Swedish "plaska" does too. The verb has a second, unrelated history. Here "plash" meant to bend and interlace the stems of a hedge, so that it grows thick and stock-proof, a practice also called pleaching. That sense comes from Old French "plaissier", "to bend; to interlace", which goes back to Latin "plectere", "to braid or plait". So one English spelling covers two words: a noisy water word and a gardening word with a Latin ancestor. Scholars are not certain whether the two are related.

Synonyms: splash, spatter, sprinkle, drip, slosh