Slapping

How to spell slapping

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce slapping

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does slapping mean?

1. verbStriking something or someone sharply with an open hand or a flat object, or putting something down quickly and carelessly.

Slapping in a sentence

• He kept slapping mosquitoes on his arm all through the warm evening.

• The loose sail was slapping against the mast in the strong wind.

Where does slapping come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The base word slap is imitative in origin, meaning that it was coined to echo the sharp, flat sound of an open hand striking a surface. It is first recorded in English in the 1500s and has close cousins in the Germanic languages, including the Low German slapp, which carried the same smacking sense. Because the verb ends in a single short stressed vowel followed by a single consonant, English doubles that final p before adding -ing, giving slapping; this doubling rule is the one spelling decision worth remembering. The same pattern of an echoic, sound-copying word appears in relatives like clap, flap, and snap, all built to mimic abrupt noises. Over time slap also drifted into figurative uses, such as doing something in a quick, careless way, while the literal striking sense remained primary.

How the word is built

• slap (imitative root: a sharp blow)
• -p- (doubled consonant after a short stressed vowel)
• -ing (present participle/gerund)