On′o‐mat′o‐pœ″ia (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. �; ὄνομα, ονὄματοσ, a name + � to make.] (Philol.) The formation of words in imitation of sounds; a figure of speech in which the sound of a word is imitative of the sound of the thing which the word represents; as, the buzz of bees; the hiss of a goose; the crackle of fire.
☞ It has been maintained by some philologist that all primary words, especially names, were formed by imitation of natural sounds.