clatter

Etymology

From Middle English clatren (“to make a rattling sound”), from Old English *clatrian (attested as the Late Old English gerund clatrung), of onomatopoeic origin. The noun, derived from the verb, is first attested in the 14ᵗʰ century.

verb

1. (intransitive) To make a rattling sound.
2. (intransitive) To chatter noisily or rapidly.
   But if that I knewe what his name hight, / For clatering of me I would him ſone quight; / For his falſe lying, of that I ſpake never, / I could make him ſhortly repent him forever: […] c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.
3. (Northern England) To hit; to smack.
   "I can't watch it because I have to go outside and clatter someone in the nuts!” 1988, Harry Enfield, Friday Night Live
   “An Orange bitch clattered seven shades of shite out of her,” Padraig eagerly piped up. 2010, Gerald Hansen, Hand in the Till

noun

1. A rattling noise; a repetition of abrupt, sharp sounds.
   The patter of feet, and clatter of strap and swivel, seemed to swell into a bewildering din, but they were almost upon the fielato offices, where the carretera entered the town, before a rifle flashed. 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 7, in The Dust of Conflict
   There was something distinctly low-key, even wilfully alienating about the band’s performance. A scattering of OK Computer tracks were interspersed with more abstract latterday material – the clatter of 15 Step and Myxamatosis. June 26, 2017, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian
   ... disintegrated Incredibly , pitched your clattering pieces to the bottom stair Of intellect , insisting that you start Again . Or proud - flesh , clotted mental pores , might claim Authentic miracle only to decry it . Campanulas . 1978, William Cookson, Agenda, volume 16, number 1 - v. 18, Poets and Painters Press, →OCLC, page 7
2. A loud disturbance.
3. Noisy talk or chatter.