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paradiddle

[par-uh-did-l]
noun
  1. an exercise or sequence performed typically on the snare drum, marked by four basic beats with alternation of the right hand and left hand on successive strong beats, and begun and ended slowly with a dramatic increase in tempo in the middle.
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Origin of paradiddle

1925–30; staccato syllables partly imitative; cf. diddle2; perhaps with para-1 facetiously representing the alternation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for paradiddle

paradiddle

noun
  1. a group of four drum beats produced by using alternate sticks in the pattern right-left-right-right or left-right-left-left
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Word Origin

C20: of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012