51吃瓜

More about onomatopoeia

• First recorded in 1570鈥�80.
• Comes via Late Latin, from the Greek word onomatopoi铆a, which translates as 鈥渢he making of words.鈥�
• The word poet shares the same Greek stem that means, “maker.”

EXAMPLES OF ONOMATOPOEIA

• The comic book artist skillfully used onomatopoeia in the action scenes, drawing “zap” and “pow” in speech bubbles.
• In poetry, onomatopoeia adds a vivid and auditory dimension to the words on the page.

There are many onomatopoeic words in our 鈥淏iggest Smile Wins鈥� bracket.

More about whippersnapper

• First recorded in 1665鈥�75.
• Most likely a blend of earlier whipster and snippersnapper, which are similar in sense.
• Both whip 补苍诲听snap entered English centuries before and have Germanic origins.

EXAMPLES OF WHIPPERSNAPPER

• The old man scolded the whippersnapper for cutting in line at the grocery store.
• She chuckled at the antics of the young whippersnapper trying to act all grown up.

What word makes you chuckle?

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More about cacophony

• First recorded in 1650鈥�60.
• Comes via New Latin cacophonia聽from Greek 办补办辞辫丑艒苍铆补, which contains caco– “bad” + –phony “sound.”

EXAMPLES OF CACOPHONY

• As the orchestra tuned their instruments, a cacophony of mismatched sounds filled the concert hall.
• The classroom erupted into a cacophony of laughter and chatter after the bell rang for recess.