Brewer's: Pit-a-pat

My heart goes pit-a-pat. Throbs, palpitates. “Pat” is a gentle blow (Welsh, ffat), and “pit” is a mere ricochet expletive. We have a vast number of such ricochot words, as “fiddle-faddle,” “harum-scarum,” “ding-dong,” etc.

Anything like the sound of a rat Makes my heart go pit-a-pat.

Browning: Pied Piver of Hamelin.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language