Definition:
A word or lexeme that contains two identical or very similar parts.
Examples and Observations:
- "Items with identical spoken constituents, such as goody-goody and din-din, are rare. What is normal is for a single vowel or consonant to change between the first constituent and the second, such as see-saw and walkie-talkie.
"Reduplicatives are used in a variety of ways. Some simply imitate sounds: ding-dong, bow-wow. Some suggest alternative movements: flip-flop, ping-pong. Some are disparaging: dilly-dally, wishy-washy. And some intensify meaning: teeny-weeny, tip-top. Reduplication is not a major means of creating lexemes in English, but it is perhaps the most unusual one."
(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, 2003) - "Into this Universe, and Why not knowing
Nor Whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing,
and out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not Wither, willy-nilly blowing."
(Edward Fitgerald, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam) - "Look out helter skelter
She's coming down fast
Yes she is
Yes she is coming down fast."
(John Lennon and Paul McCartney, "Helter Skelter") - "Correct me if I'm wrong: the gizmo is connected to the flingflang connected to the watzis, watzis connected to the doo-dad connected to the ding dong.”
(Patrick B. Oliphant) - "Dilly dally shilly shally!"
(Tifa Lockhart in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children)
Pronunciation: ree-DOO-plik-uh-tiv
