‘Pingdemic’mic

Huge numbers of people in the UK are being told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid-19 app, which “pings” you even if you sat on the other side of a solid wall from an infected person. Since the 19th century, ping has been used onomatopoeically for a high-pitched metallic sound, or that of bullets flying overhead or ricocheting, perhaps borrowing the older sense: to prick or stab (from the Latin pungere). From 1983, it also meant a message from one computer to another. It might be annoying when someone says they will ping you (by email or text), but it is better than being shot, as a Utah newspaper reported in 1892: “When Gib Welsh, the Deputy Sheriff, tried to nab him, Jake pinged him.” A horse is said to “ping” if it runs or jumps well; in happier times, a pingdemic might be equestrian entertainment.