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Creative Onomatopoeia

A list of 141 words by chained_bear.

About

Words that sound like what they mean, but they're not *technically* onomatopoetic.

(another edit: this list is morphing into something I can't quite describe. But I still like it.)

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  • chained_bear Lovely! Thanks for sharing. That pretty much nails this list, doesn't it? :) Sep 9, 2010

  • pterodactyl I was reminded of this list today when I stumbled upon a description of "creative onomatopoeia" in a novel I'm reading. I've reproduced the relevant passage here:

    Glint, glisten, glitter, gleam...

    Tiffany thought a lot about words, in the long hours of churning butter. Onomatopoeic, she'd discovered in the dictionary, meant words that sounded like the noise of the thing they were describing, like cuckoo. But she thought there should be a word meaning a word that sounds like the noise a thing would make if that thing made a noise even though, actually, it doesn't, but would if it did.

    Glint, for example. If light made a noise as it reflected off a distant window, it'd go glint! And the light of tinsel, all those little glints chiming together, woudl make a noise like glitterglitter. Gleam was a clean, smooth noise from a surface that intended to shine all day. And glisten was the soft, almost greasy sound of something rich and oily.
    --The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett. Sep 9, 2010

  • wordlover42 what about serene? Jun 23, 2009

  • yarb Sift fits. Jun 22, 2008

  • Prolagus smegma? Jun 8, 2008

  • Prolagus Glossy belongs here. Jun 7, 2008

  • dontcry Ipecac is a good one. I could almost hork just saying it. Jun 7, 2008

  • rolig a lovely list, and a good ear! Jun 7, 2008

  • whichbe What is it with this list? So many of the words have this little energetic charge, they sound so very somatic yet visceral to speak... interesting phenomena. Jun 7, 2008

  • chained_bear Ha! Good one, yarb! Feb 20, 2008

  • yarb Hernia sounds exactly like the noise you make when you get one. Or so I imagine. Feb 20, 2008

  • reesetee Wait--cantilever? It always sounds to me like it's juuuust barely balanced. Jan 4, 2008

  • reesetee Tuft is definitely a good one. :-) How about puff?

    Jennarenn, you and AZ are missed when you're not around! Jan 4, 2008

  • sarra ♥ tuft!
    I'm loath to add anything to this list, as my relationship with language does this all over. Jan 4, 2008

  • jennarenn a_z is a guy?! I never guess correctly.

    No worries, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just more unemployed available during the summers. :) Jan 4, 2008

  • chained_bear That happened to AbraxasZugzwang too, but he hasn't come back again. Don't let this happen to you, jennarenn! You are missed! Jan 4, 2008

  • jennarenn How fun! I haven't been on in ages, and what do I find but a comment directed at me right there on front page. I'd at least add pronk, but it's your list. :) Jan 4, 2008

  • bilby Sphagnum should definitely be squelchy. Always check for squelchiness with your sphagnomenometer. Jan 3, 2008

  • chained_bear jennarenn--I don't think so--it was one of my earliest lists. But perhaps pronk and stot belong here. Hmm.... Jan 3, 2008

  • jennarenn Was this list inspired by the pronk and stot conversation? Nov 21, 2007

  • chained_bear I'll do that, yarb. Thanks for the tip.

    Crikey, this list is HUGE! Oct 24, 2007

  • yarb I did not know you could buy dried sphagnum. I'll look out for it next time I go to a store.

    I believe the wild, wet variety is more common in higher latitudes. Definitely worth seeking out and planting a boot. Oct 24, 2007

  • chained_bear Well, I'm not an outdoorsy type of bear, so the only sphagnum I really come across is sold in stores as an additive to, or covering for, the soil for potted plants--for example, sphagnum moss liners for hanging baskets. It's always dried out though.

    *wonders if she should get out more* Oct 24, 2007

  • yarb But I thought wetness was sort of of the essence of sphagnum? I didn't think it was possible to have any kind of sphagnum experience other than a damp one. In any case, I assure you that when wet, as sphagnum really ought to be, nothing can better it for squelchiness. Oct 24, 2007

  • chained_bear OK, I added it--but in my limited experience with sphagnum, it's never wet, so I wouldn't know the extent of its squelchiness. Oct 24, 2007

  • yarb Sphagnum sounds exactly like the sound it makes when you step in it. Oct 24, 2007

  • chained_bear I disagree with "colic," actually. I don't even think "gas" sounds like what it denotes (in this case used as a synonym of "colic"). Flatus, however...

    I don't really know, but you raise a fair question about itch. Who knows how words like these get their "feelings"? I can speak only for myself with this list--I'm sure if any other wordies compiled similar lists, we'd all be struck by the differences!

    sionnach... it *is* churlish! Actually, you're probably right. I didn't check the spelling.

    But I'm adding churlish. ;) Oct 22, 2007

  • skipvia Right...in both cases. I shouldna hadna oughtna copypasted here. Ironically, I was afraid I would spell it incorrectly. Oct 22, 2007

  • sionnach It seems almost churlish to bring this up, but isn't the word onomatopoeia? Oct 22, 2007

  • skipvia Do these feel like onomotopoeia because of the sounds the words make or because we so closely associate them with their meanings? For example, look at (by which I mean listen to) itch. It sounds like something brief, sharp, or tingly. A word like "room" or "mauve" just wouldn't seem appropriate to describe the sensation of an itch. But why? How did the word "itch" get associated with the experience?

    Can you think of many words that sound like the opposite of what they mean? Bucolic always strikes me this way, but I think that's because I hear the word colic in there. (Colic, by the way, sounds exactly like what it describes.) Oct 22, 2007

  • chained_bear Yeah! I never would have thought of those. Nice adds! Thanks! Oct 22, 2007

  • yarb Wonderful - how about wax or waxy? Purely subjective of course. Or chasm, which is an echoey word isn't it? Oct 21, 2007

  • trivet how 'bout haggle? Feb 7, 2007

  • chained_bear The sound of the word reminds me of the sound of beads clicking on wires (in the hands of a skilled operator). Entirely subjective, of course--to each her own. Feb 4, 2007

  • seanahan Really, how does the abacus sound like what it means? Feb 4, 2007

  • chained_bear Interestingly, so many of these are monosyllabic. That's indicative of either the nature of onomotopoeia, or my own mental limitation in coming up with multisyllabic ones. Feb 4, 2007

  • tankexmortis Great list. Favorited. Feb 1, 2007