Merriam-Webster Word of the Day - Onomatopoeia

WORD OF THE DAY April 17, 2018

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onomatopoeia    noun | ah-nuh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh     Definition   1 : the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (such as buzz, hiss)   2 : the use of words whose sound suggests the sense   Scroll down for more about onomatopoeia      TRENDING NOW: lowlife kakistocracy slimeball salacious SEE ALL      PEOPLE ARE READING   On 'Awesome'     ‘Obtuse’ or ‘Abstruse’?     The Many Origin Stories of 'Nerd'     The Adverb: A Most Fascinating POS         WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE   More Confusing Words—Quiz   How many of these commonly confused words do you know?     PLAY NOW     Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try!  TAKE ME THERE         Did You Know?   Onomatopoeia came into English via Late Latin and ultimately traces back to Greek onoma, meaning "name," and poiein, meaning "to make." (Onoma can be found in such terms as onomastics, which refers to the study of proper names and their origins, while poiein gave us such words as poem and poet.) English speakers have only used the word onomatopoeia since the mid-1500s, but people have been creating words from the sounds heard around them for much longer. In fact, the presence of so many imitative words in language spawned the linguistic bowwow theory, which postulates that language originated in imitation of natural sounds.     Examples of ONOMATOPOEIA   "The 'whiz'—or is it the 'whoosh,' or maybe 'sh-sh-sh-sh-sh'?—of an ace being served is described … by rival tennis players in the opening moments of Anna Ziegler's 'The Last Match.' The speakers concede, though, that an onomatopoeia doesn't do the job of explaining what it's like to have a meteoric ball hurtling past your ears, shattering your hopes if not the sound barrier." — Ben Brantley, The New York Times, 26 Oct. 2017   "[James] Chapman pointed out that what looks like variation in onomatopoeia is sometimes simply a rearranging of discrete sounds: clap clap in English becomes plec plec in Portuguese." — Uri Friedman, The Atlantic, 27 Nov. 2015   Word Family Quiz   What adjective is derived from Greek onoma and means "having or known by various names"?   VIEW THE ANSWER           WEBBY AWARDS     Help Merriam-Webster Win A Webby!   We’re thrilled that our app is nominated in the Education & Reference category. Please vote for us and show that words matter!   VOTE NOW