lickety
/ˈlɪkɪti/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.79 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "lickety-cut"
- "lickety-split"
- "Away they started, “lickety-click,” and arrived at the winning-post within touching distance of each other."
- "Lickity, lickity, switch, we came to the ford, and Chiquita / Buckled right down to her work"
Etymology
Somewhat disputed. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests either the verb or noun lick “stroke with the tongue”, with -ety, a suffix used to extend monosyllabic words. Merriam-Webster supports OED, deriving lickety-split from the same senses of lick. Harper's Online Etymology Dictionary, in contrast, suggests it is a variant of the noun lick “sprint; rate of speed”. Some writers suggest that lickety-split may be onomatopoeic – compare clickety, clicketty-clack – but they note this as personal opinion. The word is attested, with variable spelling, from the 19th century; see quotations below and at Citations:lickety.
Usage
Inflected Forms
lickedy (alternative)
licketie (alternative)
lickerty (alternative)
licketty (alternative)
lickity (alternative)
lickoty (alternative)