2011_11_23 crepitate \KREP-i-teyt\, verb: To make a crackling sound; crackle.

crepitate \KREP-i-teyt\, verb:
To make a crackling sound; crackle.
The lampwicks crepitate; their flames are about to go out, long mosquitoes flit in rapid circlings about them.
 -- Gustave Flaubert, The Temptation of Saint Anthony
This horrible talk, however, evidently possessed a potent magic for my friend; and his imagination, checked for a while by the influence of his kinsman, began to ferment and crepitate.
 -- Henry James, Stories Revived
Crepitate is from the Latin crepitare which meant “to rustle or chatter.”