1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Patter

PATTER, properly a slang word for the secret or &ldquo;cant&rdquo; language used by beggars, thieves, gipsies, &c., hence the fluent plausible talk that a cheap-jack employs to pass off his goods, or a conjuror to cover up his tricks. It is thus used of any rapid manner of talking, and of a &ldquo;patter-song,&rdquo; in which a very large number of words have to be sung at high speed to fit them to the music. The word, though in some of its senses affected by &ldquo;patter,&rdquo; to make a series of rapid strokes or pats, as of raindrops, is derived from the quick, mechanical repetition of the Paternoster, or Lord's Prayer.