Onomatopoeia

By Deane Barker • • tags: linquistics, definition •

Definition: the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it

For example: “Bang!” or “buzz” or “hiss.” Saying the word also makes the sound.

Why I Looked It Up

A film review said this:

Gruesome and deliciously broad, Sam Raimi’s Darkman bears the haunted soulfulness of Gothic tragedy while packing the stylistic verve of onomatopoeia springing off a comic strip page.

I didn’t get this at first, but onomatopoeia is common in comic books – think “pow!” and “ugh!” and such. With comic books, they write words to illustrate pictures that imply sounds.

I still don’t quite get how Darkman has a related “stylistic verve,” though.

Links to this – High Jinks September 18, 2023
Everyone knows what this means, but no one is really sure of the etymology. The word “high” is easy, in the sense that it just amplifies what comes after it (“high fashion,” “high crime”). But what does “jinks” mean? It was a dice game at one time, and it’s been used as slang to mean “to move...