onomatopoesy

plural onomatopoesies

1. countableuncountableThe use of onomatopoeia.

   Because of this difference the onomatopoesy of the original has been lost and also some of the alliterative quality of Finnish poetry.

   1963, Ernest J. Moyne, Hiawatha and Kalevala

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   Another means is the imitation of sounds by the organ of speech, constituting onomatopoesy , e.g., the hissing of a stream, the roll of thunder, the tumult of a storm, whistling, etc.

   1892, Leonard Landois, William Stirling, A Text-book of Human Physiology, page 664

   It is to be remembered, too, in saying that the child imitates such familiar onomatopoesies as “bow-wow” (French “oua-oua.”), “tic-tic” (French “tic-tac”) from the nurse, that the nursery tradition of employing these sounds is probably the result of a respectful attention to the spontaneous namings of earlier generations of babies.

   1893 July, Professor Sully, “A New Book on Infant Psychology”, in Journal of Education, volume 15, number 288, page 387

   Even Hoxha's wife, Nexhmije (whose name is genuine onomatopoesy) , contributes by attacking the parasitic, opportunistic tendencies of Albanian youth.

   1968, Yorick Blumenfeld, Seesaw: Cultural Life in Eastern Europe, page 109

   A little child is not content to call a cow, a cow; it is a moo-cow, and a dog is a bow-wow; but if onomatopoesy is a child-like quality, then our language itself is the kingdom of children.

   2004, Frederick Millet Salter, H. V. Weekes, The Art of Writing, page 114