ping pong
/ˈpɪŋˌpɔŋ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.28 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An instance of figuratively bouncing something or someone back and forth.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The exchange of proposed amendments between the House of Commons and House of Lords, particularly at the end of a session when compromises have to be made to complete the legislative process within the limited time available.
British usage; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Our correspondent seems to hope that the unclean, playing Ping-Pong with the clean, will become unpleasantly conscious of his uncleanness and reform."
- "To be conscious is to be subject to just such a ping-pong of recurring nervous activities that effect muscle tone on one side and brain discharge on the other."
- "As only bust or half-length figures are all the ping pong photographer attempts, only one or two small plain backgrounds is all that is necessary. Generally two are used, a light one and a dark one."
- "Most ping pongs were 35- to 45-gallon drums. The larger drum had room for more notes; the tones were also louder and clearer and could be sustained longer."
Etymology
Onomatopoeic. The name “ping-pong” was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. Jaques sold the rights to the “ping-pong” name in the United States to Parker Brothers. Registered in the United States in 1930, Ping-Pong (with dash) is still a registered wordmark of Parker Brothers, Inc. Contrary to a common misconception, the word does not originate from Chinese 乒乓 (pīngpāng), though there are possibilities that the coiners encountered Chinese themselves.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɪŋˌpɔŋ/
- British English: /ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Sports.