tick-a-tickn.
An imitation of the sound of a clock or watch; ticking; in quot. 1805, throbbing of the pulse. (Cf. tick-tack n., tick-tick n.)
ΚΠ
1805 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1806) 9 243 Munro shall count of pulse his tick-a-tick.
1883 D. R. Sellars in D. H. Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets 6th Ser. 157 Tick-a-tick, tick-a-tick, My old clock's voice I hear.
Derivatives
tick-a-tack n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > repeated sound or succession of sounds > [noun] > regular or alternating rhythm > ticking
tick-tackc1550
tick1680
ticking1748
tick-ticka1777
tick-tock1847
tick-ticking1897
tick-a-tack1898
tick-tockinga1947
1898 Doyle in Speaker 5 Mar. 298/1 The clock goes tick-a-tack.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
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n.1805