patter means A soft repeated sound, as of rain falling, or feet walking on a hard surface. It carries an Arena rating of 1903, earned across 35 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, patter ranks #69 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #385 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #523 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #745 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
patter is pronounced /ˈpæt.ə/.
Why “patter” is a great word
A rapid, soft, tapping sound or a stream of glib, rapid speech; the act of making or speaking in such a manner. From the onomatopoeic word 'pat' (a light, repeated sound) + the frequentative suffix '-er' (indicating repeated action). The sense of rapid talk derives from the rapid, mechanical recitation of the Paternoster (Lord's Prayer). First attested in the 1610s for the sound; the speech sense is from the late 14th century. Unlike 'pitter-patter,' which implies a specific alternating rhythm like raindrops, or 'jargon,' which names specialized terms, 'patter' is the cadence itself—a delivery both rapid and rehearsed. It is the soft fusillade of sleet on a windowpane, the shushing whisper of cards expertly shuffled, the practiced, hypnotic spiel of a street-corner magician selling impossible dreams; the sound of something rehearsed until it becomes its own music, the audible ghost of effort transformed into ease.
Etymology
1610s, pat + -er (“frequentative (indicating repeated action)”), of (onomatopoeia) origin.
noun
- A soft repeated sound, as of rain falling, or feet walking on a hard surface.e.g.“I could hear the patter of mice running about in the dark.”
- Glib and rapid speech, such as from an auctioneer, a sports commentator, or a salesperson with a slick style of selling.e.g.“sales patter”
- One who pats.e.g.“I used to hate head patters, and I have realized that all children dislike being patted on the head.” — 1981, Jackie Cooper, Richard Kleiner, Please Shoot Dog, page 50:
verb
- To make irregularly repeated sounds of low-to-moderate magnitude and lower-than-average pitch.e.g.“The bullets pattered into the log-cabin walls.”
- To spatter; to sprinkle.e.g.“1819 (published in 1835) Joseph Rodman Drake, The Culprit Fay
Patter the water about the boat.”
- To speak glibly and rapidly, as does an auctioneer or a sports commentator.
- To repeat the Lord's Prayer.
- To pray.
- To repeat hurriedly; to mutter.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- patteringly 79% match — With a pattering sound. vs patter →
- pattersome 71% match — Characterised or marked by pattering vs patter →
- patterning 65% match — A pattern; the production of a pattern; the process of forming a pattern. vs patter →
- bepat 63% match — To beat upon (as on a drum); patter upon. vs patter →
- rataplan 61% match — A continuous, even drumming or rapping, as of the hooves of a galloping horse, or machine-gun fire. vs patter →
- patteran 59% match — Any of several coded signs left along a road or on a non-Roma house by one Rom to another. The most common ones consist of crossed sprigs (usually of different trees or shrubs) indicating, for example, a direction travelled. vs patter →
- pattened 59% match — Wearing pattens. vs patter →
- prattle 58% match — To speak incessantly and in an inconsequential or childish manner; to babble. vs patter →