onomatopoeia

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onomatopoeia

/ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə/ UK
/ˌɒnəˌmɛtəˈpæɪə/ New Zealand
/ˌɑnəˌmætəˈpiːə/ US
/ˌɑnəˌmɑtəˈpiːə/ US
/ˌɑnəˌmɑnəˈpiːə/

Rhymes with -iːə

Where it comes from

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.

noun onomatopoeias · onomatopoeiae · onomatopœia · onomatopy · onomatopeia

uncountable The property of a word that sounds like what it represents. A woꝛde makinge called of the Grecians Onomatopeia is when we make woꝛdes of oure owne mynde, ſuche as be deriued from the nature of thinges.
countable A word that sounds like what it represents, such as gurgle, stutter, or hiss.
countable A word that appropriates a sound for another sensation or a perceived nature, such as thud, beep, or meow; an ideophone, phenomime.
rhetoric, uncountable The use of language whose sound imitates that which it names.

Thesaurus

noun

Translations

Every language

noun word that sounds like what it represents

Español	onomatopeya
한국어	의성어 uiseong'eo
日本語	擬音語 giongo, 擬声語 giseigo, 擬態語 gitaigo, オノマトペ onomatope
中文	象聲詞 /象声词 xiàngshēngcí, 擬聲詞 /拟声词 nǐshēngcí, 擬聲語 /拟声语 nǐshēngyǔ, 狀聲詞 /状声词 zhuàngshēngcí
हिन्दी	स्वनानुकरणात्मक svanānukarṇātmak, अनुकरण anukraṇ
Português	onomatopeia
Français	onomatopée
Deutsch	lautmalerisches Wort, lautmalendes Wort, lautnachahmendes Wort, klangnachahmendes Wort, onomatopoetisches Wort, Klangwort
Italiano	onomatopea
Ελληνικά	ονοματοποιία onomatopoiía
Română	onomatopee
Русский	звукоподража́ние zvukopodražánije, ономатопе́я onomatopéja
Tiếng Việt	từ tượng thanh

noun property of a word that sounds like what it represents

Español	onomatopeya
日本語	擬音 gion, 擬声 gisei
中文	象聲 /象声 xiàngshēng, 擬聲 /拟声 nǐshēng, 狀聲 /状声 zhuàngshēng
हिन्दी	स्वनानुकरणात्मक svanānukarṇātmak, अनुकरण anukraṇ
Português	onomatopeia
Français	onomatopée
Deutsch	Lautmalerei, Klangnachahmung, Lautnachahmung, Schallnachahmung, Onomatopöie, Onomatopoesie
Italiano	onomatopea
Ελληνικά	ονοματοποιία onomatopoiía
Română	onomatopee
Русский	звукоподража́ние zvukopodražánije, ономатопе́я onomatopéja
Tiếng Việt	tượng thanh
العربية	مُحَاكَاة صَوْتِيَّة

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Cite this

MLA

"onomatopoeia." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/onomatopoeia. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

onomatopoeia. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/onomatopoeia

Chicago

"onomatopoeia." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/onomatopoeia.

BibTeX

@misc{onomatopoeia_2026,
  title = {onomatopoeia},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/onomatopoeia},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}