apitpat

English

Etymology

From a- +‎ pitpat.

Adverb

apitpat (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of pit-a-pat (“With quick beating or palpitation”)

   His heart beat apitpat with every smile she flashed his way.

   • 1693, [William] Congreve, The Old Batchelour, a Comedy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Peter Buck, […], →OCLC, Act II, page 11:

     O here a' comes—Ah my Hector of Troy, vvelcome my Bully, my Back; agad my heart has gone a pit pat for thee.

References

• “apitpat”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• pit-a-pat, pitapat