# ping pong
## English
### Alternative forms

* ping-pong, pingpong

### 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. Contrary to a common misconception, the word does not originate from Chinese 乒乓 (pīngpāng), though there are possibilities that the coiners encountered Chinese themselves.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ/, /ˈpiŋˌpɒŋ/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈpɪŋˌpɔŋ/; (cot–caught merger) /ˈpɪŋˌpɑŋ/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɒŋ

### Noun

ping pong (countable and uncountable, plural ping pongs)
* table tennis.
    Synonyms: (archaic) flim-flam, (archaic) whiff-whaff, (precursor) gossima
** 1900, Daily Chronicle‎, published 1905, May 8, page 6/6:Our correspondent seems to hope that the unclean, playing Ping-Pong with the clean, will become unpleasantly conscious of his uncleanness and reform.
* (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, Wendell T. Bush, editors, 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.
* (UK politics) The exchange of proposed amendments between the House of Commons and House of Lords, 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.
* (music) A small, shallow steelpan drum.
** 2012, Angela Smith, Steel Drums and Steelbands: A History, page 158:Most ping pongs were 35- to 45-gallon drums. The larger drum had room for more notes; the tones were also louder and clearer and could be sustained longer.

#### Derived terms

* aerial ping pong
* beer pong
* ping pong ball
* ping-pong diplomacy
* ping-pongist
* ping pong player
* ping pong show

#### Descendants

* → Chinese: 乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú)
* → Greek: πινγκ πονγκ (pingk pongk)
* → Italian: ping pong
* → Japanese: ピンポン (pin pon)
* → Korean: 핑퐁 (pingpong)
* → Portuguese: pingue-pongue
* → Russian: пинг-понг (ping-pong)
* → Spanish: ping pong

#### Translations
### 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.
** (transitive, medicine) To refer (a patient) unnecessarily to a number of clinics or practitioners as a form of fraud.
* (intransitive) To play the game of ping pong.

### References

* ↑ USPTO trademark serial numbers 71295230, 71295231 and 71564016

### Further reading

* Ping Pong on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

## Italian
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English ping pong.

### Noun

ping pong m (uncountable)
* ping pong
    Synonyms: ping-pong, tennis da tavolo, tennis tavolo

### Further reading

* ping pong in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English ping pong, originally a trademark. See more at ping pong.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pimˈpon/ [pĩmˈpõn]
* Rhymes: -on

### Noun

ping pong m (uncountable)
* (sports) ping pong
    Synonym: tenis de mesa
* (by extension) a back and forth or volatile fluctuation of anything
    un ping pong emocional ― an emotional fluctuation

#### Derived terms

* pelota de ping pong

## Tagalog
### Noun

ping pong (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜒᜅ᜔ ᜉᜓᜅ᜔)
* Alternative spelling of pingpong