onomatopoeia
/ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə/
onomatopoeia means the property of a word that sounds like what it represents. It carries an Arena rating of 1900, earned across 74 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, onomatopoeia ranks #151 of 42,752 for Qualifying, #260 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #468 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #714 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
onomatopoeia is pronounced /ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə/.
Why “onomatopoeia” is a great word
Onomatopoeia is the formation of a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound it describes. From the Ancient Greek ὀνοματοποιία (onomatopoiía), from ὄνομα (ónoma, "name") and ποιέω (poiéō, "I make, produce"). Unlike "ideophone," which evokes a broader sensory idea, or "mimesis," a general term for artistic imitation, onomatopoeia is language's direct, mimetic pact between sound and sense. It is the percussive plink of a raindrop, the metallic shriek of brakes, and the hollow thud of a coconut hitting wet sand—a fleeting, acoustic truth captured and given a name, proof that speech began not in thought, but in echo.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin onomatopoeïa, from Ancient Greek ὀνοματοποιία (onomatopoiía, “the coining of a word in imitation of a sound”), from ὀνοματοποιέω (onomatopoiéō, “to coin names”), from ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”) + ποιέω (poiéō, “to make, to do, to produce”). By surface analysis, onomato- + -poeia.
noun
- The property of a word that sounds like what it represents.
- A word that sounds like what it represents, such as gurgle, stutter, or hiss.
- A word that sounds like what it represents, such as gurgle, stutter, or hiss.; A word that appropriates a sound for another sensation or a perceived nature, such as thud, beep, or meow; an ideophone, phenomime.
- The use of language whose sound imitates that which it names.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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