▪ I. alliterate, v.
(əˈlɪtəreɪt)
[f. L. al-, ad- to + littera letter + -ate3, on the analogy of obliterate, f. L. oblitterāt-um, oblitterā-re, already formed in L.]
1. intr. Of words: To begin with the same letter or group of letters, to constitute alliteration.
| 1816 Southey Lett. (1856) III. 27 Moreover, the two L's alliterate well. |
2. Of persons: To compose alliteratively.
| 1826 Q. Rev. XXXIV. 13 The letters with which we alliterate. |
▪ II. alliterate, ppl. a.
(əˈlɪtərət)
[f. as prec., on analogy of literate, illiterate, and L. litterātus.]
Alliterated; formed or placed so as to alliterate.
| 1871 R. F. Weymouth Euph. 4 The alliterate words often have more than one letter the same: ‘Thou hast tried me, therefore trust me: I never yet failed, and now I will not faint.’ |