pitapat

Pit"a*pat`, adv. Etym: [An onomatopoetic reduplication of pat a light, quick blow.] Defn: In a flutter; with palpitation or quick succession of beats. Lowell. "The fox's heart went pitapat." L'Estrange. Pit"a*pat`, n. Defn: A light, repeated sound; a pattering, as of the rain. "The pitapat of a pretty foot." Dryden.

---