thwack

English

Etymology

From a variant (influenced by whack) of Middle English thakken (“to stroke”), from Old English þaccian (“to touch gently, stroke, tap”), from Proto-Germanic *þakwōnan (“to touch lightly”), from Proto-Indo-European *tag-, *taǵ- (“to touch”). Cognate with Old Dutch þakolōn (“to stroke”), Old Norse þykkr (“a thwack, thump, blow”), Icelandic þjökka, þjaka (“to thwack, thump, beat”), Norwegian tjåka (“to strike, beat”), Latin tangō (“touch”). More at tangent.

Pronunciation

• enPR: thwăk, IPA: /θwæk/, SAMPA: /Tw{k/
• Rhymes: -æk

Noun

thwack (plural thwacks)

1. The act of thwacking; a strike or blow, especially with a flat implement.
2. To strike with a wet, slapping sound.

Verb

thwack (third-person singular simple present thwacks, present participle thwacking, simple past and past participle thwacked)

1. To whack or hit with flat implement.
2. To beat.