ˌänəˌma]d.əˈpēə, ]təˈ- sometimes ōˌnämə] or ˌänəˌmä] or -pēyə noun
( -s )
Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek onomatopoiia, from onomato- + -poiia (from poiein to make + -ia -y) — more at poet
1.
a. : formation of words in imitation of natural sounds : the naming of a thing or action by a more or less exact reproduction of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss, bobwhite ) : the imitative or echoic principle in language — compare bowwow theory
b. : a word so formed
the international stock of onomatopoeias — Leo Spitzer
2. : the use of words whose sound suggests the sense
a study of the poet's onomatopoeia
• on·o·mat·o·poe·ian -|pē(y)ən adjective