تترتق

The regular verbal noun (in certain northern dialects) of تَرْتَق (tartaʔ, “to patter”), itself a variant of طَرْطَق (ṭarṭaʔ, “to patter”), a diminutive or iterative of طَرَق (ṭaraʔ, “to hit”) formed by reduplication.

This verbal noun pattern, تْفِعْلُق (tCiCCuC), descends from the Arabic form IIq verbal noun تَفَعْلُق (taCaCCuC), which was originally rigidly distinguished from the form Iq فَعْلَقَة (CaCCaCa). For example, the Standard Arabic verbal noun of the form IIq تَدَحْرَجَ (tadaḥraja, “to tumble”) is تَدَحْرُج (tadaḥruj), whereas the verbal noun of the corresponding form Iq دَحْرَجَ (daḥraja, “to roll (something) along”) is دَحْرَجَة (daḥraja).

Sedentary Levantine dialects have largely lost the former and now derive the productive verbal nouns of both forms identically: دَحْرَجْهَا دَحْرَجِة (daḥraj(h)a daḥraje, “he rolled it along”, cognate object construction) and تْدَحْرَج دَحْرَجِة (tdaḥraj daḥraje, “he took a tumble”). However, certain dialects toward northern Lebanon and coastal Syria have flouted this trend and retained the original form IIq verbal noun in one of two ways:

1. Retaining the original distinction: دَحْرَجْهَا دَحْرَجِة (daḥraj(h)a daḥraje, “he rolled it along”) and تْدَحْرَج تْدِحْرُج (tdaḥraj tdiḥruj, “he took a tumble”).
2. Losing the original form Iq verbal noun: دَحْرَجْهَا تْدِحْرُج (daḥraj(h)a tdiḥruj, “he rolled it along”) and تْدَحْرَج تْدِحْرُج (tdaḥraj tdiḥruj, “he took a tumble”).

The present term, تْتِرْتُق (ttirtuʔ, “pattering”), is the product of a dialect of the latter type.

تْتِرْتُق or تْتُرْتُق • (ttirtuʔ or tturtuʔ) m (regional)

1. action or sound of pattering; verbal noun of تَرْتَق (tartaʔ, “to patter”)

   Alternative form: تْطِرْطُق (tṭirṭuʔ)

   Synonym: (more common form) تَرْتَقَة (tartaʔa)

   • 2013, Salim Gebrayel, يا فراشة (yā frāši) [O Butterfly]‎^[1], archived from the original on September 25th, 2025:

     بِهَوْنِي لَيْلِة أَنَا وْسِهْرَان بِسْمَعْ تْتِرْتُق عَاللَّمْبَة. بطَّلَّع بْشُوف فَرَاشِة

     bi hawne layle ʔana w sihrān bismaʕ ttirtuʔ ʕal-lamḅa. bitṭallaʕ bšūf farāši

     One [recent] night, while I'm up late, I hear pattering on the lightbulb. I look up, I see a butterfly