"to ping" (and OED Online)

[W Brewer]

WB: Pinger in Chinese. Fast & dirty query of internet
​reveals
:

(1) <towed pinger locator> = [tuo1-ye4-shi4 // sheng1-bo1 fa1-she4 qi4 // di
ng4-wei4-qi4] (lit. <towed // acoustic emission device // locate device>

(2) <pinger> = [ping2-er] (sort of like [PING-ahr]): sinogram for
<duckweed> + diminutive suffix (lit. <child, son>); the duckweed sinogram
is used in expressions for <moving about rootlessly, aimless wandering,
like duckweed on a pond>.

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