Alliterations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The repetition of initial consonant sounds in closely positioned words for emphasis or poetic effect
2. A literary device involving the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
3. The stylistic technique where consonants at the start of words create a rhythmic or musical quality in language

Etymology: "Alliterations" is the plural of "alliteration," the device of repeating an initial sound across nearby words. The noun traces back to New Latin "allīterātiō," built from "allīterātus," from the verb "allīterō." That verb combines Latin "ad," meaning "to" or "near," with "lītera," meaning "a letter," so the underlying image is of letters placed side by side. The plural form simply counts multiple instances of the device, as in "the poem is full of alliterations." The root of the word is the same as that of "literal," "literate," and "literature," all of which descend from Latin "littera," a letter of the alphabet. Alliteration itself is a comparatively late coinage, formed in New Latin rather than in classical Latin, which had no such term.

Synonyms: repetition, consonance, assonance