ping pong
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Onomatopoeic. The name "ping-pong" was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. Jaques sold the rights to the "ping-pong" name in the United States to Parker Brothers. Registered in the United States in 1930, Ping-Pong (with dash) is still a registered wordmark of Parker Brothers, Inc.[1] Contrary to a common misconception, the word does not originate from Chinese 乒乓 (pīngpāng).
Pronunciation
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
- Table tennis.
- (figuratively) An instance of figuratively bouncing something or someone back and forth.
- 1909, Thaddeus L. Bolton, “On the Efficacy of Consciousness”, in Frederick James Eugene Woodbridge and Wendell T. Bush, editor, The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, volume 6, New York: The Science Press, page 424:
- To be conscious is to be subject to just such a ping-pong of recurring nervous activities that effect muscle tone on one side and brain discharge on the other.
-
- (Britain, Parliament) The exchange of proposed amendments between the two houses of parliament, particularly at the end of a session when compromises have to be made to complete the legislative process within the limited time available.
- (dated) A size of photograph a little larger than a postage stamp.
- 1909, James Boniface Schriever, Commercial, press, scientific photography (page 401)
- As only bust or half-length figures are all the ping pong photographer attempts, only one or two small plain backgrounds is all that is necessary. Generally two are used, a light one and a dark one.
- 1909, James Boniface Schriever, Commercial, press, scientific photography (page 401)
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- Greek: πινγκ πονγκ (pingk pongk)
- Japanese: ピンポン (pin pon)
- Spanish: ping pong
- Russian: пинг-понг (ping-pong)
Translations
table tennis — see table tennis
Verb
ping pong (third-person singular simple present ping pongs, present participle ping ponging, simple past and past participle ping ponged)
- (transitive, intransitive) To figuratively bounce or be bounced back and forth.
- (intransitive) To play the game of ping pong.
See also
References
- USPTO trademark serial numbers 71295230, 71295231 and 71564016
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pinˈpon/, [pĩnˈpõn]
Noun
- (sports) ping pong
- (by extension) a back and forth or volatile fluctuation of anything
- un ping pong emocional ― an emotional fluctuation
Synonyms
Derived terms
- pelota de ping pong
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