| onomatopoeic coinage |
| Definition: Coining a word by imitating the sound that the thing signified makes. |
| Example: ping-pong and sizzle |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Greek onomatopoiia, the making of words (from onoma, word or name + poiein, make). |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The first OED citation for the word is from 1577: "Onomatopeia, when we invent, devise, fayne, and make a name intimating the sound of that it signifieth, as hurlyburly, for an uprore and tumultuous stirre." (Henry Peacham, the Elder, The Garden of Eloquence (1577)) |