paku paku taberu is the
etymological root of
pac-man.
taberu means to
eat. stuff in front of it makes it more
specific (and is usually doubled up like that).
paku paku taberu means to "
gobble down."
thanks, cuthalion
~
though i originally heard this from
cuthalion, i put out a small search for some
real evidence. i won.
neener neener. :) an
interview with the
creator himself can be found at the link at the end of this node, do a search for '
paku' to find it quicker. i'll include the excerpt from it right here though:
The Japanese have a slang word - paku paku - they use to describe the motion of the mouth opening and closing while one eats. The name Pac Man came from that word.
Pac-Man
designer,
Toru Iwatani < http://retrogamer.merseyworld.com/iwatani.htm >
* by the way, in japanese, u's at the end of words are pretty much not pronounced.