crepitation

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a crackling, rattling, or popping sound

   The only sound was the faint crepitation of the chair by the fire.

2. 2
   noun

   a grating or crackling sound or sensation produced in damaged joints, fractured bones, or gas-filled tissue

   The clinician felt crepitation when the injured joint moved.

3. 3
   noun

   a fine crackling sound heard in the lungs during breathing

   The doctor detected crepitation at the base of the patient's lungs.

From Latin crepitatio, based on crepitare ("to crackle or rattle"), a frequentative of crepare ("to rattle, crack, or burst"). General and medical senses both preserve the idea of repeated small cracking sounds.

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