ping pong

Meanings

Noun

• Table tennis.
• An instance of figuratively bouncing something or someone back and forth.
• The exchange of proposed amendments between the two Houses of Parliament, particularly at the end of a session when compromises have to be made to complete the legislative process within the limited time available.
• A size of photograph a little larger than a postage stamp.

Verb

• To figuratively bounce or be bounced back and forth.
• To play the game of ping pong.

Origin

• . 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 , though there are possibilities that the coiners encountered Chinese themselves.