crepitate

[prettygoodword]

crepitate - v., to make a crackling or popping sound; crackle.


From Latin crepitare, to crackle, the frequentative of crepare, to creak. A medical dictionary gives as examples of crepitation "The sensation felt on placing the hand over the seat of a fracture when the broken ends of the bone are moved, or over tissue in which gas gangrene is present" and "The noise produced by rubbing bone or irregular cartilage surfaces together, as in arthritis." But it need not be medical -- coughdrop wrappers are designed to crepitate loudest in concert halls.

---L.

Comments

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

I am intimately familiar with crepitation; my knees crepitate every time I extend them. They're so loud that my trainer, a PT, winces.

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

I crepitate my knuckles all day. I'd say most of my joints crepitate, but enough of them are just single pops instead of a crackle. (Crepation instead of crepitation?)

---L.