thwack

A man being thwacked (sense 1.1) with a 張扇 (はりせん, harisen), a large folded paper fan used in Japanese slapstick comedy.

The verb is probably:[1]

• partly onomatopoeic, from the sound of something being beaten (compare whack); and
• partly derived from Late Middle English twakken, twake (“to hit (someone) with something; to pat; to stroke”),[2] probably from Middle English thakken, thakke (“to dab; to pat; to stroke”) [and other forms] (whence thack (obsolete except Britain, dialectal)),[3] from Old English þaccian (“to beat; to pat; to touch softly, stroke; to strike gently, clap, tap”), from Proto-West Germanic *þakkōn, from Proto-Germanic *þakwōną (“to pat; to tap; to touch”), from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to grasp with the hand; to touch”). Doublet of tangent.

The noun and interjection are derived from the verb.[4]

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: thwăk, IPA^(key): /θwæk/

• audio (RP)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æk

thwack (third-person singular simple present thwacks, present participle thwacking, simple past and past participle thwacked)

1. (transitive)
   1. To hit (someone or something) hard, especially with a flat implement or a stick; to thrash, to whack.

      Synonyms: (obsolete except Britain, dialectal) thack, bethwack; see also Thesaurus:hit

      • [1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Friar’s Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales (in Middle English), [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; Charles Cowden Clarke, editor, The Canterbury Tales of Chaucer. […], 2nd edition, volume II, Edinburgh: James Nichol; London: James Nisbet & Co.; Dublin: W. Robertson, 1860, →OCLC, page 49, lines 7141–7142:

        This carter thwacketh his horse upon the croup, / And they began to drawen and to stoop.

        This carter thrashes his horse upon the croup, / And they began to draw and to stoop.]

      • 1580, Thomas Tusser, “Octobers Abstract”, in Fiue Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie: […], London: […] Henrie Denham [beeing the assigne of William Seres] […], →OCLC; republished as W[illiam] Payne and Sidney J[ohn Hervon] Herrtage, editors, Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], 1878, →OCLC, stanza 3, page 43:

        Flaies lustily thwack, / least plough séede lack.

      • c. 1615–1620 (date written), Tho[mas] Middleton, The Mayor of Quinborough: A Comedy. […] [Hengist, King of Kent], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], published 1661, →OCLC, Act V, scene i, page 61:

        Run, run, come you hither / Novv, take all my Cuſhions dovvn and thvvack them ſoundly, / After my Feaſt of Millers: for their Buttocks / Have left a peck of flovver in them, beat them carefully […]

      • 1712, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], “The Rest of Nic’s Fetches to Keep John out of Ecclesdoun-Castle”, in Lewis Baboon Turned Honest, and John Bull Politician. Being the Fourth Part of Law is a Bottomless-Pit. […], London: […] John Morphew, […], →OCLC, page 32:

        VVith that Nic bounc'd up vvith a Spring equal to that of one of your nimbleſt Tumblers or Rope dancers, falls foul upon John Bull to ſnatch the Cudgel he had in his Hand, that he might Thvvack Levvis vvith it.

      • 1820 January 1, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Christmas Day”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number V, New York, N.Y.: […] C. S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 423:

        I had finished my toilet, and was loitering with Frank Bracebridge in the library, when we heard a distant thwacking sound, which he informed me was a signal for the serving up of the dinner.

        An adjective use.

      • 1856, Joseph Cartwright, Philpot Street: Or, The Infidels of Stepney. […], London: […] G. Rymer, […]; and published by C. Kerbey, […], →OCLC, page 9:

        Now, great logician! nothings enemy! / Who thwacketh nothing, and its numerous fry / Of little nothings, and the nothings grown; / The fog-lost nothings; and the nothings known.

      • 1881, Walter Besant, James Rice, “How Kitty First Saw the Doctor”, in The Chaplain of the Fleet […], volume I, London: Chatto and Windus, […], →OCLC, part I (Within the Rules), page 82:

        [F]ew country people there are who do not love to see two sturdy fellows thwack and belabour each other with quarter-staff, single-stick, or fists.

      • 1906, Ambrose Bierce, “Iconoclast”, in The Cynic’s Word Book, London: Arthur F. Bird […], →OCLC, page 170:

        For the poor things [worshippers] would have other idols in place of those he [the iconoclast] thwacketh upon the mazzard and dispelleth.

        A deliberate archaism.

      • 1982 August, Douglas Adams, chapter 4, in Life, the Universe and Everything (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; 3), London: Pan Books, →ISBN, page 24:

        The batsman swung and thwacked it [a cricket ball] behind him over the sight-screens.

   2. (also figuratively) To drive or force (someone or something) by, or as if by, beating or hitting; to knock.
      • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 277, column 2:

        But let him ſvveare ſo, and he ſhall not ſtay, / VVee'l thvvack him hence vvith Diſtaffes.

   3. To pack (people or things) closely together; to cram.
      • 1610, Jos[eph] Hall, “Section V. The Antiquity and Examples of Separation.”, in A Common Apologie of the Church of England: Against the Uniust Challenges of the Ouer-iust Sect, Commonly Called Brownists. […], London: […] [William Stansby] for Samuel Macham, […], →OCLC, page 14:

        [W]hen hee comes to deſcribe the office of his imaginarie doctor [he] thvvacks fourteene Scriptures into the margent, vvhereof not any one hath any iuſt colour of inference to his purpoſe: […]

      • 1641, John Milton, “Sect. I”, in Animadversions upon the Remonstrants Defence against Smectymnuus; republished in A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton, […], volume I, Amsterdam [actually London: s.n.], 1698, →OCLC, page 148:

        [W]ho vvould have thought a Man could have thvvackt together ſo many incongruous Similitudes, had it not been to defend the motley incoherence of a patch'd Miſſal?

   4. (figuratively) To decisively defeat (someone) in a contest; to beat, to thrash.
      • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v], page 23, column 1:

        3 [Servingman] VVhy here's he that vvas vvont to thvvacke our Generall, Caius Martius. / 1 VVhy do you ſay, thvvacke our Generall? / 3 I do not ſay thvvacke our Generall, but he vvas alvvayes good enough for him.

      • 1821 January 8, [Walter Scott], chapter II, in Kenilworth; a Romance. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; and John Ballantyne, […]; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 40:

        [W]hat adventurous knight ever thought of the lady's terror, when he went to thwack giant, dragon, or magician, in her presence, and for her deliverance?

      • 1869, R[ichard] D[oddridge] Blackmore, chapter II, in Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor. […], volume I, London: Sampson Low, Son, & Marston, […], →OCLC, page 18:

        If we count three before the come of thee, thwacked thou art, and must go to the women.

   5. (obsolete) To crowd or pack (a place or thing) with people, objects, etc. [16th–17th c.]
      • 1582, Virgil, “The Third Booke of Virgil His Aeneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC; republished as The First Four Books of the Æneid of Virgil, […], Edinburgh: [Edinburgh Printing Company], 1836, →OCLC, page 80:

        And my lad Aſcanius with a Troian mantel adorning, / Weau'd woorks thwackt with honor, to her gifts this parlye ſhe lincketh.

2. (intransitive)
   1. To fall down hard with a thump.
      • 1831 February, “Delta” [pseudonym; David Macbeth Moir], “The Winter Wild”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume XXIX, number CLXXVII, part II, Edinburgh: William Blackwood; London: T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, stanza VII, page 328:

        And see, that urchin, ho-ieroe! / His truant legs they sink from under, / And to the quaking sheet below [i.e., ice on which he has been skating], / Down thwacks he, with a thud like thunder!

   2. (obsolete) To be crammed or filled full.
      • 1650, Alexander Giraffi [i.e., Alessandro Giraffi], “Saturday the 13. of Iuly, 1647. The Seventh Day.”, in James Howell, transl., An Exact Historie of the Late Revolutions in Naples; […], London: […] R. A. for R[ichard] Lowndes, →OCLC, pages 157–158:

        [A]ll that vvere vvithin the audience of theſe vvords and dovvn the Church, vvhich vvas as full as it could thvvack in thick multitudes, gave a loud general applauſe.

   3. (obsolete, rare) Of people: to crowd or pack a place.
      • c. 1629–1632 (date written), Richard Brome, “The City Wit, or, The Woman Wears the Breeches. A Comedy.”, in A[lexander] Brome, editor, Five New Playes, […], London: […] Humphrey Moseley, Richard Marriot, and Thomas Dring, […], published 1653, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, signature [B8], verso:

        All the vviſe vvenches i'the Tovvn vvill thvvack to ſuch Sanctuaries, vvhen the times are troubleſome, and Troopers trace the ſtreets in terror.

• thock, thwock

thwack (plural thwacks)

1. An act of hitting hard, especially with a flat implement or a stick; a whack; also, a powerful stroke involved in such hitting; a blow, a strike.

   Synonym: (obsolete except Britain, dialectal) thack

   • 1662, [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, canto II, page 49:

     Him Ralph encountred, and straight grew / A fierce Dispute betwixt them two: / Th'one arm'd with Metall, t'other with Wood; / This fit for bruise, and that for Blood. / With many a stiff thwack, many a bang, / Hard Crab-tree and old Iron rang; / While none that saw them could divine / To which side Conquest would encline: […]

   • 1704, [Jonathan Swift], “Section XI”, in A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC, page 205:

     Noble Captain, Lend a reaſonable Thvvack, for the Love of God, vvith that Cane of yours, over theſe poor Shoulders.

   • 1832, [Washington Irving], “Legend of the Moor’s Legacy”, in The Alhambra: A Series of Tales and Sketches of the Moors and Spaniards. […], volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey & [Isaac] Lea, →OCLC, page 14:

     [H]e trudged rapidly up the steep avenue of the Alhambra, singing as he went, and now and then bestowing a hearty thwack with a cudgel on the flanks of his donkey, either by way of cadence to the song, or refreshment to the animal; for dry blows serve in lieu for provender in Spain, for all beasts of burden.

   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Affidavit”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 230:

     But he was stopped on the way by a portly sperm whale, that begged a few moments' confidential business with him. That business consisted in fetching the Commodore's craft such a thwack, that with all his pumps going he made straight for the nearest port to heave down and repair.

2. A dull or heavy slapping sound.

   Synonym: thwomp

   • 1837, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Mrs. Bullfrog”, in Mosses from an Old Manse. […], part I, New York, N.Y.: Wiley and Putnam, published 1846, →OCLC, page 122:

     I had scrambled out of the coach, and was instinctively settling my cravat, when somebody brushed roughly by me, and I heard a smart thwack upon the coachman’s ear. […] And then came a second thwack, aimed at the driver's other ear, but which missed it, and hit him on the nose, causing a terrible effusion of blood.

   • 1859, George Meredith, “Crisis in the Apple-disease”, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, page 137:

     "It's a comfort they're most on'em females," he pursued, sounding a thwack on his knee as he settled himself agreeably in his seat.

thwack

1. Used to represent the dull or heavy sound of someone or something being hit or slapped.
   • 1582, Virgil, “[Here after Ensue Certayne Poetical Conceites. […].] The Description of Liparen, […].”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC; republished as The First Four Books of the Æneid of Virgil, […], Edinburgh: [Edinburgh Printing Company], 1836, →OCLC, page 142:

     Three watrie clowds ſhymring toe the craft they rampired hizzing, / Three whern's fierd gliſtring, with ſouthwynds rufflered huffling. / Now doe they rayſe gaſtly lightnings, now griſlye reboundings / Of ruffe raffe roaring, mens harts with terror agryſing. / With peale meale ramping, with thwick thwack ſturdilye thundring.

   • 1908 June, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, “A Tempest in the School Teapot”, in Anne of Green Gables, Boston, Mass.: L[ouis] C[oues] Page & Company, published August 1909 (11th printing), →OCLC, page 156:

     And then—Thwack! Anne had brought her slate down on Gilbert's head and cracked it—slate, not head—clear across.