Onomatopoeic Words
Henry Mullen
I'm looking for a good list or reference. I keep running across the same
examples: buzz, whisper, tic-toc, and cuckoo. Thanks much.
Bob Cunningham
Henry Mullen <mul...@edgenet.net> wrote:
>I'm looking for a good list or reference. I keep running across the same
>examples: buzz, whisper, tic-toc, and cuckoo. Thanks much.
A search for definitions containing the word "imitative" in
American Heritage Dictionary Third Edition, on-line version, yielded a
fairly long list, which I will append to this message.
Some of the words may contain the word "imitative" in their
definitions for some reason other than their being onomatopoeic. I
checked "ranunculus", for example, and found that the name comes from
a word meaning "little frog", "perhaps imitative". The word may come
from the sound of a frog, but it is not itself onomatopoeic.
The word "cliché" also aroused my suspicion; however, on checking
it I find that it is indeed onomatopoeic, "imitative of the sound made
when the matrix is dropped into molten metal to make a stereotype
plate". "Cliché is the past participle of French "clicher", meaning
"to stereotype".
Presumably a longer list could be obtained from on-line versions
of more comprehensive dictionaries, such as The Random House Second
Unabridged and the Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Also, some onomatopoeic words may be defined in those dictionaries
using words other that "imitative". I base this statement on
definitions I find in the 1920s edition of the Oxford English
Dictionary. Some words are defined using the abbreviation "imit.",
while others are defined using the word "onomatopoeic" itself, with no
mention of "imitative" or an abbreviation thereof.
Anyway, here is the list; you should be able to choose from it a
good number of words that are truly onomatopoeic:
apish, aye-aye, baa, barf, bawl, beep, bhes-, biff (1), blah, blat,
bleep, blip, blurt, bobolink, bobwhite, bong (1), boo (1), boom (1),
bop (1), borborygmus, bow-wow, brash (1), brattle, brouhaha,
bubble and squeak, buffo, buffoon, bumble (2), bump, burp, burr (2),
buzz, cachinnate, cackle, cahow, canard, caterwaul, caw, champ (1),
chatter, chebec, cheep, chewink, chickadee, chickaree, chiffchaff,
chink (2), chip (2), chirp, chirr, chitter, chuck (3),
chuck-will's-widow, chuff (2), chug, chugalug, churr, clack, clank,
claque, clash, clich‚, click, clink (1), clique, clock (1), clomp,
clop, clunk, cock (1), cockalorum, coo, cough, creak, cricket (1),
croak, crump, crunch, cuckoo, cuckoo clock, curlew, dah, dickcissel,
ding (1), ding-dong, dit, donkey, doo-wop, drum, echoic, elastic,
fanfare, fillip, fizz, flam (2), flash, flick (1), flip, foofaraw,
frapp‚, froufrou, gag, gaga, gaggle, gallimaufry, Georgian, gere-[2],
ghrebh-[1], gibberish, giggle, glockenspiel, glop, gnar, gobble (2),
gobbledygook. guff, guffaw, harrumph, haw (1), hawk (3), heehaw,
hem (2), hiccup, hiss, honk, hoopla, hoopoe, hoot (1), hue and cry,
huff, hum, hurdy-gurdy, hush, imit., imitative, jabber, jape, jar (2),
jargon, jingle, kakka-, katydid, kazoo, kea, kibitz, killdeer,
kittiwake, kiwi, knack, knackwurst, knap, knapsack, la-di-da,
lash (1), laugh, laughter, likeness, mannish, marmite, marmot, meow,
mew (2), mewl, mimetic, mimic, mirliton, moo, mot, motmot, neigh,
noodle (3), obstreperous, oink, oompah, owl, paradiddle, pat (1),
patagium, patois, peabody bird, peetweet, pewee, pewit, phoebe, ping,
pipit, pique, piss, pistol, pitapat, pitter-patter, plink, plod,
plop, plump (2), plunk, pneu-, pol-, poop (5), pop (1), pouf,
pralltriller, puff, puke, pule, pumpernickel, purr, put-put, putsch,
quack (1), quail (1), quelea, ralph, ranunculus, rap (1),
rat-a-tat-tat, rataplan, rattle (1), rebuff, rip-off, ruffle (2),
rustle, shabu-shabu, shantung, shoddy, simmer, sizzle, sketch,
slavish, smack (1), smash, smooch, snarl (1), snicker,
sound effects, spang, spank, spit (1), splat (2), spout, squawk,
squeal, squelch, squib, strident, stridor, stridulous, strum,
susurration, swash, swish, swoosh, takeoff, tam-tam (1), tang (2),
tantara, tartan (2), tattle, teacher bird, throb, thrum (1), thud,
thump, thunk (1), thwack, ticktack, ticktacktoe, ticktock, ting,
tinkle, tinnitus, tintinnabulum, titter, tittup, tom-tom, toot,
touch, towhee, trill, trommel, turtle (2), tut-tut, twang,
tweedledum and tweedledee, tweet, twite, twitter, ululate, umpteen,
urp, veery, viola (1), vox humana, vroom, waffle (2), wah-wah,
whack, wham, whang (2), whicker, whimper, whippoorwill, whiz, whoop,
whoosh, willet, womanish, woof (2), wow (2), wowser, yackety-yak,
yak (2), yap, yech, yip, yock, yodel, yowl, zap, zing, zip, zoom,
zoon (2)
alan auerbach F
That list omits my favorite baudy bodisms:
fart (better if you prolong the "f" sound),
the alltime winner, piss (drag the "ss"),
and maybe (depending how you do it) barf.
--
Al.
John Lawler
In article <Dtv8F...@info.uucp>,
Well, if you're going to include these, let me append a couple:
In Chinook jargon, the verb for 'spit' is [px], and
the verb for vomit is [?o?]. If you read IPA, you'll
get the idea.
In French, there are two verbs translating English 'fart'.
One, "pe'ter", with all stops, means to make an audible fart;
the other, "vesser", with all fricatives, means to do what my childhood
friends called "letting a sneaker".
Onomatopoeia is a subtle phenomenon, tied up with sound symbolism
generally, and not always very iconic. You may want to read
Rhodes and Lawler, "Athematic Metaphors" in CLS 17, 1981.
Or you may not.
- John Lawler http://www.umich.edu/ling/jlawler/ U Michigan Linguistics
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Language is the most massive and inclusive art we know, a - Edward Sapir
mountainous and anonymous work of unconscious generations." Language (1921)
Aaron J. Dinkin
In article <4r9qki$c...@thighmaster.admin.lsa.umich.edu>,
jla...@snoopy.ling.lsa.umich.edu (John Lawler) wrote:
> In article <Dtv8F...@info.uucp>,
> alan auerbach F <aaue...@mach1.wlu.ca> wrote:
> >That list omits my favorite baudy bodisms:
> >fart (better if you prolong the "f" sound),
> >the alltime winner, piss (drag the "ss"),
> >and maybe (depending how you do it) barf.
>
> Well, if you're going to include these, let me append a couple:
>
> In Chinook jargon, the verb for 'spit' is [px], and
> the verb for vomit is [?o?]. If you read IPA, you'll
> get the idea.
The Hebrew verb for "sneeze" is /ataS/ (I follow the convention of using
the 3d person sing. masc. past tense); "spit" is /kax/ (future tense
/jakuax/); "hiccup" is /Sihek/; "snore" is /naxar/. A fly is /zvuv/. Latin
for "spit" is "spuo"; "it is raining" is "pluit".
If I have the Hebrew phonemes (or words) wrong, Avi and Davida (or anyone
else who knows more Hebrew than I) may feel free to correct me.
帰aron J. Dinkin
Dr. Whom
Patrick Gillard
In article <31d71059...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, Bob Cunningham
<exw...@ix.netcom.com> writes
>Henry Mullen <mul...@edgenet.net> wrote:
>
>>I'm looking for a good list or reference. I keep running across the same
>>examples: buzz, whisper, tic-toc, and cuckoo. Thanks much.
>
> A search for definitions containing the word "imitative" in
>American Heritage Dictionary Third Edition, on-line version, yielded a
>fairly long list, which I will append to this message.
>
>
>good number of words that are truly onomatopoeic:
>
Are there any other searches of this nature that you've tried? It's a
very good way of getting useful extra information from the dictionary,
and it often surprises me that the dictionary makers themselves have not
gone through the various extractive possibilities offered by
computerized databases.
I would have thought that searches for words such as 'colour' and
'sound' used in definitions would generate interesting sub-lists, but
this would depend on how restrictive the defining style of the
dictionary was.
Did you hear the story about the first computerized database of the OED?
Apparently, they found about 2000 words within the examples which did
not themselves appear as headwords in the text, even though it was
intended to be completely comprehensive.
--
Patrick Gillard
Bob Cunningham
Patrick Gillard <pat...@faustina.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>In article <31d71059...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, Bob Cunningham
><exw...@ix.netcom.com> writes
>>Henry Mullen <mul...@edgenet.net> wrote:
>>
>>>I'm looking for a good list or reference. I keep running across the same
>>>examples: buzz, whisper, tic-toc, and cuckoo. Thanks much.
>>
>> A search for definitions containing the word "imitative" in
>>American Heritage Dictionary Third Edition, on-line version, yielded a
>>fairly long list, which I will append to this message.
[...]
>Are there any other searches of this nature that you've tried? It's a
>very good way of getting useful extra information from the dictionary,
Yes, I find occasion to do a search now and then. It's all for
fun, since I am retired and no longer do anything useful. As one
example, I once made a list of all the words in AHD3 that ended in
"ay". By visual examination of that list I then made a list of words
that were valid in both Pig Latin and English.
>and it often surprises me that the dictionary makers themselves have not
>gone through the various extractive possibilities offered by
>computerized databases.
I think they do, although one major dictionary maker still speaks
of having most of their files on slips of paper because they haven't
yet afforded the cost of putting them into a computer.
>I would have thought that searches for words such as 'colour' and
>'sound' used in definitions would generate interesting sub-lists, but
>this would depend on how restrictive the defining style of the
>dictionary was.
One a.u.e. regular has told me about the search capabilities that
are available with the CD-ROM version of OED2. It sounds as though
with sufficient patience you can write macros to do about anything you
want to do.
>Did you hear the story about the first computerized database of the OED?
>Apparently, they found about 2000 words within the examples which did
>not themselves appear as headwords in the text, even though it was
>intended to be completely comprehensive.
That's interesting, but not completely surprising. I think the
original intent of the OED was to include every word in the English
language after a certain date, but one reader for OED has told us that
it isn't at all certain that a newly discovered word will be included
in the next edition. Before they decide to include a word, they
evaluate it based on things like frequency of use and probable
permanence. I guess the point is, though, that even though there may
have been good reasons for not having the 2000 words in main headings,
those reasons should also be good reasons for not using them in
definitions.
The original OED apparently didn't have any restrictions on what
was to be included (except for restrictions on certain offensive
words), as shown by the fact that some words are annotated to show
that only *one* usage was found, with that usage being from a few
hundred years ago.
(Posted)
Davida Chazan
I say, wasn't that aaron_j...@fourd.com (Aaron J. Dinkin) who
wrote:
>
>The Hebrew verb for "sneeze" is /ataS/ (I follow the convention of using
>the 3d person sing. masc. past tense); "spit" is /kax/ (future tense
>/jakuax/); "hiccup" is /Sihek/; "snore" is /naxar/. A fly is /zvuv/. Latin
>for "spit" is "spuo"; "it is raining" is "pluit".
>If I have the Hebrew phonemes (or words) wrong, Avi and Davida (or anyone
>else who knows more Hebrew than I) may feel free to correct me.
Well done (I really should read that FAQ to understand better that
stuff between the "//"). But you forgot one of my favorites: The
word for bottle in Hebrew is 'baakbook' which is the sound wine makes
when being poured.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Life is like a box of Chocolates..."
from 'Forrest Gump'
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Michael B. Quinion
In article: <31d9bfaf...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>
exw...@ix.netcom.com (Bob Cunningham) writes:
> ... one major dictionary maker still speaks
> of having most of their files on slips of paper because they haven't
> yet afforded the cost of putting them into a computer.
One of the problems for dictionary makers is that, although they are
mostly now thoroughly wired, many of their expert and long-standing
readers are not, and the cost of keying the paper-based citations they
supply into the database can be significant.
> ... one reader for OED has told us that
> it isn't at all certain that a newly discovered word will be included
> in the next edition. Before they decide to include a word, they
> evaluate it based on things like frequency of use and probable
> permanence.
The rules are not particularly onerous, but are designed to exclude the
real nonce words that are coined by the dozens in newspapers every week
or which occur in only one source. Examples from memory: the 'Economist'
had 'Sentatespeak' recently; the word 'Birtism' has been coined for the
policies of the current director-general of the BBC, but is used only (I
think) in one newspaper; there are large numbers of coinages in suffixes
like '-ee' and '-gate' (as in 'Filegate'). Putting all such neologisms
in, even in an unabridged dictionary, would serve little useful purpose
(though citing instances under the suffixes in the last case would be
helpful).
> I guess the point is, though, that even though there may
> have been good reasons for not having the 2000 words in main headings,
> those reasons should also be good reasons for not using them in
> definitions.
That is a good principle. However, I am surprised that, in pre-computer
days, the number of such words was as low as 2000 -- it demonstrates the
care with which the language was combed for examples.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael B Quinion <mic...@quinion.demon.co.uk> Thornbury, Bristol, UK
Michael Quinion Associates home page : <http://clever.net/mqa/>
World Wide Words : <http://clever.net/quinion/words/>
Simon Read
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Simon Read
May I subvert the definition somewhat to include words which
refer to themselves, or can be made to, in ways other than
sound?
So here's one: would you like to hear it?
I can see you're twitching with antici-
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Simon Read
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-pation.