Onomatopoeia - formal designation?

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NathanSmith
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Onomatopoeia - formal designation?

Post by NathanSmith »

I ran across ψιθυρίζω (whisper) in Sirach and instantly thouguht, "this must be an onomatopoeia." I then read the LSJ entry and it does not say one thing or another about this (unless I missed something). This is not particularly surprising since such a characterization of a word is tangential to the task of a lexicon.

But that leads me to wonder - are there formal etymologic criteria for determining onomatopeia, or is it just "you know it when you hear it"? Anyone know a good list of examples in Greek?

Do people agree that ψιθυρίζω sounds like an onomatopoeia?
David Lim
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Re: Onomatopoeia - formal designation?

Post by David Lim »

NathanSmith wrote:I ran across ψιθυρίζω (whisper) in Sirach and instantly thouguht, "this must be an onomatopoeia." I then read the LSJ entry and it does not say one thing or another about this (unless I missed something). This is not particularly surprising since such a characterization of a word is tangential to the task of a lexicon.

But that leads me to wonder - are there formal etymologic criteria for determining onomatopeia, or is it just "you know it when you hear it"? Anyone know a good list of examples in Greek?

Do people agree that ψιθυρίζω sounds like an onomatopoeia?
Any such criteria will probably be highly subjective. In any case, Strabo mentioned a few (κελαρύζειν καὶ κλαγγὴ δὲ καὶ ψόφος καὶ βοὴ καὶ κρότος) (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/tex ... g=original). Middle-Liddel says that "ψιθυριζω" is from "ψιθυρος" which in turn is "Perh. formed from the sound." (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/mor ... s-contents).
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Ken M. Penner
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Re: Onomatopoeia - formal designation?

Post by Ken M. Penner »

NathanSmith wrote:Anyone know a good list of examples in Greek?
In the prophets I've been encountering συρίζω "hiss, whistle" quite often.
Ken M. Penner
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Jonathan Robie
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Re: Onomatopoeia - formal designation?

Post by Jonathan Robie »

NathanSmith wrote:Do people agree that ψιθυρίζω sounds like an onomatopoeia?
Yes, but that's very subjective. In English, "tissue" and "bless you" both sound like someone sneezing, but I don't think that explains their derivation. I would not call these onomatopoeia.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
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Stephen Carlson
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Re: Onomatopoeia - formal designation?

Post by Stephen Carlson »

I've always wondered if πτύω was onomatopoeic.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
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