Alliterated

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Describing a phrase or passage in which the initial consonant sounds of closely connected words are repeated ; representing the stylistic device where words begin with the same consonant sound ; referring to the use of repeated beginning consonant sounds in a series of words or phrases
2. Characterizing language that features repeated initial consonant sounds to create rhythm or emphasis ; indicating the occurrence of consonant sound repetition at the start of adjacent or closely related words ; highlighting the technique of beginning words with the same consonantal sound for poetic or rhetorical effect
3. Pertaining to expressions that repeat the same initial consonant sound in nearby words ; signifying the recurrence of initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words ; denoting the stylistic repetition of beginning consonant sounds to enhance sound patterns in speech or writing

Etymology: "Alliterated" is simply the past tense and past participle of "alliterate," so its history is that of the verb it comes from. "Alliterate" is a back-formation: English speakers took the existing noun "alliteration" and, by stripping off the ending "-ation," created a new verb from it. The noun came first, built from the Latin "littera," meaning "letter," with the prefix "ad-" added to give a sense of attaching to or repeating, so the verb carries that same idea of letters repeated at the start of words. Sentences that repeat a sound, such as "Peter Piper picked a peck," can be described either as alliterative or, using the verb form, as having been alliterated.

Synonyms: alliterative, repeated initial sounds, consonance