Pattering

[pat-er] /ˈpæt ər/

verb (used without object)
1.
to make a rapid succession of light taps:
Raindrops patter on the windowpane.
2.
to move or walk lightly or quickly:
The child pattered across the room.
verb (used with object)
3.
to cause to patter.
4.
to spatter with something.
noun
5.
a rapid succession of light tapping sounds:
the steady patter of rain on the tin roof.
6.
the act of pattering.
[pat-er] /ˈpæt ər/
noun
1.
meaningless, rapid talk; mere chatter; gabble.
2.
the usually glib and rapid speech or talk used by a magician while performing, a barker at a circus or sideshow, a comedian or other entertainer, a vendor of questionable wares, or the like; stylized or rehearsed talk used to attract attention, entertain, etc.
3.
amusing lines delivered rapidly by an entertainer or performer, as in a comic routine or in a song.
4.
the jargon or cant of any class, group, etc.
verb (used without object)
5.
to talk glibly or rapidly, especially with little regard to meaning; chatter.
6.
to repeat a paternoster or other prayer in a rapid, mechanical way.
verb (used with object)
7.
to recite or repeat (prayers, verses, etc.) in a rapid, mechanical way.
8.
to repeat or say rapidly or glibly.
/ˈpætə/
verb
1.
(intransitive) to walk or move with quick soft steps
2.
to strike with or make a quick succession of light tapping sounds
3.
(transitive) (rare) to cause to patter
noun
4.
a quick succession of light tapping sounds, as of feet: the patter of mice
/ˈpætə/
noun
1.
the glib rapid speech of comedians, salesmen, etc
2.
quick idle talk; chatter
3.
the jargon of a particular group; lingo
verb
4.
(intransitive) to speak glibly and rapidly
5.
to repeat (prayers) in a mechanical or perfunctory manner
v.

“make quick taps,” 1610s, frequentative of pat (v.). Related: Pattered; pattering. As a noun in this sense from 1844.

“talk rapidly,” c.1400, from pater “mumble prayers rapidly” (c.1300), shortened form of paternoster. Perhaps influenced by patter (v.1). The related noun is first recorded 1758, originally “cant language of thieves and beggars.” Cf. Devil’s paternoster (1520s) “a grumbling and mumbling to oneself.”

PATTERING. The maundering or pert replies of servants; also talk or palaver in order to amuse one intended to be cheated. [“Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit and Pickpocket Eloquence,” London, 1811]