onomatopoeia Hear it!

onomatopoeia Definition

ono·mato·poeia (än′ō mat′ō pē′ə, -mät′-)

noun

  1. formation of a word by imitating the natural sound associated with the object or action involved; echoism (Ex.: tinkle, buzz, chickadee, etc.)
  2. the use of words whose sounds reinforce their meaning or tone, as in poetry

Etymology: LL < Gr onomatopoiia < onoma (gen. onomatos), name + poiein, to make: see poet

onomatopoeia Related Forms

on′o·mat′o·poe′ic adjective or on′o·mat′o·po·et′ic--pō et′ik on′o·mat′o·poe′i·cally adverb or on′o·mat′o·po·et′i·cally

onomatopoeia Synonyms

onomatopoeia

n.

imitation of sounds, echo, mimesis; see figure of speech.

onomatopoeia Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • use: Activity 3 - writing a glass recycling poem using onomatopoeia.
  • explore: Explore, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and distinctive rhythms.

Adjective modifier

visual: There seems evidence from the experiments for a kind of visual onomatopoeia.