Upon first encountering the word claptrap, my initial assumption was that it was some form of onomatopoeic reduplication. However, it turns out that I was quite mistaken. The origin of this term can be traced back to the theatrical world of the 1730s, where actors employed various rhetorical techniques and jokes, often lacking in substance, to elicit applause from the audience. By using sycophantic tactics, they would ensnare the audience with their words, leading to the emergence of the term “claptrap” in theatre slang. Over time, the meaning of the word expanded to encompass “nonsense speak”, and today, it represents a minute fraction of the English language, accounting for approximately 0.00000988% of all words used (a significant decrease from its peak in 1929). The verb “clap” can be traced back to Old English clæppan and Proto-Germanic klappona, ultimately deriving from an onomatopoeic origin. Similarly, the term “trap” can be linked to Old English træppe and Proto-Germanic trep, with its roots in the PIE word dremb, meaning “run”.
