onomatopoeia

—onomatopoeic, onomatopoetic /on'euh mat'euh poh et"ik/, adj. —onomatopoeically, onomatopoetically, adv.

/on'euh mat'euh pee"euh, -mah'teuh-/, n.

1. the formation of a word, as cuckoo or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.

2. a word so formed.

3. Rhet. the use of imitative and naturally suggestive words for rhetorical effect.

[1570-80; < LL < Gk onomatopoiía making of words = onomato- (comb. form of ónoma NAME) + poi- (s. of poieîn to make; see POET) + -ia -IA]

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▪ linguistics

      the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (such as buzz or hiss). Onomatopoeia may also refer to the use of words whose sound suggests the sense. This occurs frequently in poetry, where a line of verse can express a characteristic of the thing being portrayed. In the following lines from Sylvia Plath's poem “Daddy,” the rhythm of the words suggests the movement of a locomotive:

An engine, an engine

Chuffing me off like a Jew.

A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen.

      The following lines from “The Brook” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson are another example:

I chatter over stony ways,

In little sharps and trebles,

I bubble into eddying bays,

I babble on the pebbles.

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