# onomatopoeia

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə/ · frequency rank #79,816

## Definitions
1. The property of a word that sounds like what it represents.
2. A word that sounds like what it represents, such as "gurgle", "stutter", or "hiss".
3. A word that sounds like what it represents, such as "gurgle", "stutter", or "hiss".
4. The use of language whose sound imitates that which it names.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin onomatopoeïa, from Ancient Greek ὀνοματοποιία (onomatopoiía, “the coining of a word in imitation of a sound”), from ὀνοματοποιέω (onomatopoiéō, “to coin names”), from ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”) + ποιέω (poiéō, “to make, to do, to produce”). By surface analysis, onomato- + -poeia.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/onomatopoeia