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What do you call this verb (sproinging a ruler)?
The act of pushing a ruler or similar object down whilst held against a table, in order to make a sproing/boing sound like the first sound clip here: http://www.soundsnap.com/tags/sproing Is there an official dictionary word for that act?
I'm not referring to the sound, I'm referring to the act itself. Flipping an object down in that position in order to generate the sound. I know what an onomatopoeia is.
2 Answers
- BarbaraLv 78 years ago
'Sproinging' is an onomatopoeic verb --- as are words like ticking, flicking, clicking, pecking, sizzle. The words are formed from a sound associated with what is named.
Although 'sproing' and 'sproinging' don't show up in my Concise Oxford, a number of online dictionaries offer the following:
sproing (noun) the sound a compressed spring makes when it is released
sproing (verb) to spring or leap with such a sound
Despite never having checked, till now, I have heard and understood the term 'sproing' on a number of occasions over the past 30 years (particularly with reference to opening/checking electronic devices, starting with my first computer!)
- MoeLv 58 years ago
The verb "sproinging" focuses on the sound made (That kind of word is called "onomonopia"). I think most verbs you would find in the dictionary would refer to the motion rather than the noise: flicking, bouncing, quivering, vibrating, oscillating.
