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Origin and history of clatter

clatter(v.)

"make a rattling sound," from Old English *clatrian (implied by late Old English verbal noun clatrung "clattering, noise"), of imitative origin. Compare Middle Dutch klateren, East Frisian klatern, Low German klattern "to clatter, rattle;" perhaps all are from PIE root *gal- "to call, shout." With Germanic verbal suffix indicating repeated or diminutive action (see -er (4)). The noun is attested from mid-14c., from the verb. Related: Clattered; clattering.

Entries linking to clatter

hatter(n.)

"maker or seller of hats," late 14c., from hat + -er (1).

Mad as a hatter, originally a Scottish phrase, is from 1829 as "demented, violently insane," 1837 as "enraged, violently angry;" an earlier expression was to do something like a hatter (1826) "in a frenzy or energetically" (compare colloquial like mad in the same sense; see mad (adj.)). The erroneous form mad as an adder is by 1843.

The word in the phrase is perhaps from Scots hatter, "disorder; swarm;" as a verb "to bully, harass." The word has three possible origins, with a convergence likely: (1) an onomatopoeic formation similar to words like batter and clatter, (2) a variant of Scots "hotter," (itself a variant of totter) and (3) influenced by the Norse dialect "hatra," meaning to persecute or harry.

-er(4)

Germanic derivational suffix of verbs, indicating repeated or diminutive action, as in clamber, clatter, flicker (v.), glitter (v.), quaver, shimmer, slumber (v.), stutter (v.), wander, waver. Compare also snaker (Middle English snakeren) "to sneak, slink" (c. 1200), from Old Norse.

*gal-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to call, shout."

It might form all or part of: call; clatter; Gallic; gallinaceous; gallium; glasnost; Glagolitic.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit garhati "bewail, criticize;" Latin gallus "cock;" Old English ceallian "to shout, utter in a loud voice," Old Norse kalla "to cry loudly," Dutch kallen "to talk, chatter;" German Klage "complaint, grievance, lament, accusation;" Old English clacu "affront;" Old Church Slavonic glasu "voice," glagolu "word;" Welsh galw "call."