The word "tictoc" is often misspelled as "tick tock," but the correct spelling only uses one "k." The IPA phonetic transcription for "tictoc" is /ˈtɪkˌtɑk/, with a short "i" sound followed by a hard "k" sound. This word is an onomatopoeic representation of the sound made by a clock, imitating the ticking of the mechanism followed by the tocking of the minute hand. When written correctly, "tictoc" should be easily identifiable as a phonetically accurate representation of this sound.
The word "tictoc" doesn't have a widely recognized etymology as it is a relatively recent term. However, it appears to be an onomatopoeic derivation, imitating the sound of a clock ticking or a metronome maintaining a steady rhythm. "Tic" and "toc" are both commonly associated with the sound of a clock ticking, and when combined, they create the word "tictoc". The term "tictoc" gained popularity as the name of the video-sharing social networking service TikTok, which was launched in 2016 and has since become a global phenomenon.