CLAPPER


Meaning of CLAPPER in English

I. ˈklapə(r) noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English clapper, clepper, from clappen, cleppen to clap + -er

1.

a.

(1) : a mendicant's noisemaking device (as the lid of a clapdish or a leper's rattle)

(2) : a wooden rattle used in some Christian churches instead of a bell on the last three days of Holy Week

b. Britain : a rattle used to frighten away birds

c.

(1) : a noisemaker having a metal plate and two balls on flexible wires attached to a stick

(2) : one of a pair of flat sticks held between the fingers and clapped usually rhythmically : knacker — usually used in plural

2.

a.

(1) : the tongue of a bell — see bell illustration

(2) slang : the tongue of a talkative person

b. : the piece of wood or metal that strikes a mill hopper so as to cause the grain to pass down : clap

3. : a piece of board with a handle for dressing and flattening newly molded bricks

II. transitive verb

( clappered ; clappered ; clappering -p(ə)riŋ ; clappers )

: to ring (a bell) by moving the clapper

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.