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 video its vs its
Its vs. It's

 

Some practical guidance, and interesting history, about a common mistake.

play image1815466723
How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

 

And is one way more correct than the others?

play body parts video
When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

 

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

play videos pictures in the dictionary
Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

play video ghost words
How a Ghost Word Appeared in the Dictionary

 

An imaginary word that snuck into the dictionary