play onomatopoeia video
Words at Play

A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

Some imitative words are more surprising than others


Associate Editor Serenity Carr looks at onomatopoeic words you might not expect, such as bounce and tinker.

Transcript:

When you think of the origins of a word, you think of Old English, or Old French, or Latin, or Sanskrit. But not all words come from a similar word in an older language. Some words come from imitations of the sounds associated with the thing they name. Some are obvious, like fizz, jingle, toot, and pop. Others are less obvious, like slap, bounce, tinker, and cough. So listen carefully to every grunt and murmur, to the prattle and babbling around you. You may be hearing more than just chit-chat.

Up next

play onomatopoeia video
A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

play ismo merriam webster trunk boot
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

 

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

play video title words of the year 1066
Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

play serial comma
The Serial Comma Explained

 

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

play backward index mystery
The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer

play video old school grammar humorsome
Old-School Grammar

 

Many of today's grammar rules can be traced to the opinions of one 18th century writer.