clatter

English

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Etymology

From Middle English clatren (“to make a rattling sound”), from Old English *clatrian (attested as the Late Old English gerund clatrung), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Dutch klateren, kletteren.

The noun, derived from the verb, is first attested in the 14^th century.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈklætɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈklætə/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ætə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: clat‧ter

Verb

clatter (third-person singular simple present clatters, present participle clattering, simple past and past participle clattered)

1. (intransitive) To make a rattling sound.
   • 1728, Jonathan Swift, “A Dialogue between Mad Mullinix and Timothy”, in Thomas Sheridan and John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume VII, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC, page 403:

     When all the bees are gone to settle, / You clatter still your brazen kettle.

   • 1883, Howard Pyle, “Robin Hood Turns Butcher”, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLC, part second, page 49:

     When he came to Nottingham, he entered that part of the market where butchers stood, and took up his inn in the best place he could find. Next, he opened his stall and spread his meat upon the bench, then, taking his cleaver and steel and clattering them together, he trolled aloud in merry tones: […]

   • 1906 August, Alfred Noyes, “The Highwayman”, in Poems, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC, part 1, stanza III, page 46:

     Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard, / And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred; […]

2. (intransitive) To chatter noisily or rapidly.
   • c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.:

     But if that I knewe what his name hight, / For clatering of me I would him ſone quight; / For his falſe lying, of that I ſpake never, / I could make him ſhortly repent him forever: […]

   • 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Iuly. Aegloga Septima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC; reprinted as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, The Shepheardes Calender […], London: John C. Nimmo, […], 1890, →OCLC, folio 29, recto:

     Here is a great deale of good matter, / loſt for lacke of telling, / Now ſicker I see, thou doeſt but clatter: / harme may come of melling.

3. (Northern England) To hit; to smack.
   • 1988, Harry Enfield, Friday Night Live:

     "I can't watch it because I have to go outside and clatter someone in the nuts!”

   • 2010, Gerald Hansen, Hand in the Till:

     “An Orange bitch clattered seven shades of shite out of her,” Padraig eagerly piped up.

Derived terms

• aclatter
• clatterer
• clattering
• clatteringly

 

Translations

To cause to make a rattling sound

• Bulgarian: тракам (bg) (trakam), тропам (bg) (tropam)
• Finnish: kolisuttaa, kolistaa (fi)
• German: klappern (de), poltern (de)
• Macedonian: тро́поти (trópoti)
• Serbo-Croatian: zveketati (sh)

To make a rattling noise

• Arabic: قَعْقَعَ (qaʕqaʕa)
• Bulgarian: тракам (bg) (trakam), тропам (bg) (tropam)
• Czech: klapat impf, cvakat impf, rachotit impf
• Finnish: kolista (fi), kalista (fi)
• French: claquer (fr), craquer (fr)
• Ingrian: kolissa
• Portuguese: chocalhar (pt), chacoalhar (pt)
• Swedish: klappra

To chatter noisily or rapidly

• Bulgarian: трополя (bg) (tropolja), дрънкам (bg) (drǎnkam)
• Czech: žvanit (cs) impf, drčet impf, mlít pantem impf
• Danish: kagle
• Spanish: trapalear (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Norman: ^{(please verify)} clyîncailli (Jersey)

Noun

clatter (plural clatters)

1. A rattling noise; a repetition of abrupt, sharp sounds.
   • 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 7, in The Dust of Conflict‎^[1]:

     The patter of feet, and clatter of strap and swivel, seemed to swell into a bewildering din, but they were almost upon the fielato offices, where the carretera entered the town, before a rifle flashed.

   • 2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian‎^[2]:

     There was something distinctly low-key, even wilfully alienating about the band’s performance. A scattering of OK Computer tracks were interspersed with more abstract latterday material – the clatter of 15 Step and Myxamatosis.

   • 1978, William Cookson, Agenda‎^[3], volume 16, number 1 - v. 18, Poets and Painters Press, →OCLC, page 7:

     ... disintegrated Incredibly , pitched your clattering pieces to the bottom stair Of intellect , insisting that you start Again . Or proud - flesh , clotted mental pores , might claim Authentic miracle only to decry it . Campanulas .

2. A loud disturbance.
3. Noisy talk or chatter.

Synonyms

• commotion
• racket

Derived terms

• clattery

Translations

A rattling noise

• Bulgarian: тракане (bg) n (trakane), тропот (bg) m (tropot)
• Czech: klapání n, klapot m, rachocení n, rachot m
• Finnish: kolina (fi), kalina (fi)
• French: claquement (fr) m, craquement (fr) m
• German: Geklapper (de), Gepolter (de), Klappern (de) n, Klackern n, Geklacker n, Rappeln n, Gerappel n, Geklapper (de) n
• Macedonian: тро́пот m (trópot), лу́пање (lúpanje)
• Russian: гро́хот (ru) m (gróxot), лязг (ru) m (ljazg),цокот (ru) m (cokot)
• Swedish: klapper (sv) n
• Turkish: takır tukur (tr)

A loud disturbance

• Bulgarian: тупурдия (bg) f (tupurdija)
• Finnish: rytinä
• French: vacarme (fr) m
• Macedonian: тропо́тница f (tropótnica)
• Sanskrit: तुमुल (sa) (tumula)
• Turkish: patır kütür (tr)

Noisy talk or chatter

• Danish: kaglen c
• Russian: галдёж (ru) m (galdjóž), трескотня (ru) f (treskotnja)

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “clatter”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “clatter”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.