Dictionary

onomatope en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɑnəmətoʊp/ (US)
• /ˈɒnəmətəʊp/ (UK)

Etymology

Irregular back-formation from onomatopoeia.

Meanings

1. A word formed by onomatopoeia or mimesis.
   • From the start, [Jean] Gabin’s voice belonged to a popular, Parisian, sociological register, with his stress on vowels (‘a’ becomes ‘âââ’), his colourful slang and onomatopes such as ‘bah !’, ‘bof !’, ‘Eeeh ben !’ (for ‘Eh bien !’ [‘well!’]). 2024 November 8, Ginette Vincendeau, “Cinéma théâtral: stardom and performance in the Tradition of Quality”, in French Screen Studies, volume 25, numbers 1-2, Routledge, →DOI, →ISSN, page 106:
   • Some of the onomatopes were given with the notations of their respective sounds as they appear to the Indian ear; thus, the sound of the plane and drawing-knife (s-s-s) becomes the root sⁱu […] 1892 January 1, “Notes and News”, in Science, volume 19, number 465, page 3:

Forms

Synonyms

ideophone