| consonance |
| Definition: Repeating similar sounding consonants or consonantal patterns in either (1) consecutive words or (2) words that are in close succession. |
| Example: The silken sibilance of the syllables in "sibilance" itself. |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Latin consonare, to sound together (from com, with + sonare, sound). |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation in this sense is from 1589: "By using like cases, tenses, and other points of consonance, which they called Omoioteleton." (Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xvi. (Arb.) 184) |