Seesaw a "teeter-totter". According to linguist Peter Trudgill, the term originates from the Nordic language word "tittermatorter". A "teeter-totter" may also refer to a two-person swing on a swing seat, on which two children sit facing each other and the teeter-totter swings back and forth in a pendulum motion. Both "teeter-totter" (from "teeter", as in "to teeter on the edge") and "seesaw" (from the verb "saw") demonstrate the linguistic process called reduplication, where a word or syllable is doubled, often with a different vowel. Reduplication is typical of words that indicate repeated activity, such as riding up and down on a
Karl V. Teeter Karl V. Teeter Karl van Duyn Teeter (March 2, 1929 – April 20, 2007) was an American linguist known especially for his work on the Algic languages. Teeter was born in Berkeley, California, to Charles Edwin Teeter, Jr., a college professor of acoustic engineering, and Lura May (née Shaffner) Teeter. Raised in Lexington, Massachusetts, he dropped out of high school and joined the United States Army, where he served as a Supply Sergeant from 1951 to 1954. In 1951, Teeter married Anita Maria Bonacorsi, the daughter of Sicilian immigrants. Sent to Japan to serve in the occupation forces, he became