onomatopœic, a.
(əʊˌnɒmətəʊˈpiːɪk, ˌɒnəʊmæt-)
[f. Gr. ὀνοµατοποι-ός: see prec. and -ic; cf. F. onomatopéique (Littré).]
Of, pertaining to or characterized by onomatopœia, esp. as applied to the origin of names or words; imitative in sound; echoic.
| 1860 Farrar Orig. Lang. i. 18 It originated from the onomatopœic character of a large part of all language. 1864 G. W. Dasent Jest & Earnest (1873) II. 69 What has been called that ‘Bow-wow’ theory of language, which would make everything ‘onomatopœic’. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. xiv. 282 Where the onomatopœic or imitative element is most conspicuous. 1881 Cornh. Mag. July 104 Lines containing two of the finest onomatopoeic effects in our language, ‘I heard the ripple washing in the reeds And the wild water lapping on the crag’. |
So oˌnomatoˈpœical a., onomatoˈpœically adv.
| 1880 Academy 28 Feb. 153/3 The onomatopoeical sense of sound is most discriminative. |