Wordwyrt

clapper

/ˈklæpə/KLA-pur
/ˈklæpɚ/KLA-pur

Meaningone that claps

Common meaning: the tongue inside a bell

Journey through time

  1. Old Englishclæppetan‘to palpitate’source
  2. Middle Englishclappensource
  3. Englishclap‘strike the hands together’
  4. Englishformed in English from clapclapper‘the tongue inside a bell’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from clap + -er.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), CLAP, p.112 · scan

Source words

  • clæppetan Old English · source word “to palpitate”

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