Plop Sounds Like What It Names
Plop is the sound of something small dropping into liquid. It is a pure sound word.
Plop is the sound of a small object dropping into liquid, and the act of dropping something that way. It belongs to a tight English family built on *pl-*, a cluster that turns up again and again in words for liquid impact: *plop*, *plip*, *plash*, *splash*, *plunge*, *plummet*. Linguists call such a recurring sound-meaning pairing a phonestheme — not a root, but a pattern speakers feel. *Plop* is first recorded in the nineteenth century, and the vowel does the work: a *plip* is smaller than a *plop*, which is smaller than a *plunk*.
- A dropping sound. *A plop in the water.*
- To drop. *Plopping into a chair.*
- Plip — a smaller sound. *Plip.*
- Splash — a bigger one. *A splash.*
- Imitative origin. *Nineteenth century.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | plop | A plop. |
| Verb | plop | Plopping. |
| Past | plopped | Plopped. |
| Related | plip | Plip. |
| Related | splash | A splash. |
- The stone fell with a plop.Sound.
- He plopped down on the sofa.Verb.
- Plip is smaller than plop.Scale.
Sound clusters that carry meaning
- pl- — liquid impact: plop, plash, plunge, plummet
- gl- — light: glow, gleam, glitter, glisten
- sn- — the nose: sniff, snort, sneeze, snout
- -ump — heavy shapes: lump, bump, clump, stump
- These are phonesthemes, felt patterns rather than roots
Imitative, recorded in English from the early 1800s.
What is a phonestheme?
A cluster of sounds that speakers associate with a meaning, such as gl- for light, without it being a true root.
Is plop bigger or smaller than splash?
Smaller. English uses the vowel and cluster to scale these sounds, from plip through plop to splash.