alliteration
[ uh-lit-uh-rey-shuh n ]
/ əˌlɪt əˈreɪ ʃən /
noun
the commencement of two or more stressed syllables of a word group either with the same consonant sound or sound group (consonantal alliteration), as in from stem to stern, or with a vowel sound that may differ from syllable to syllable (vocalic alliteration), as in each to all.
Compare consonance(def 4a).
the commencement of two or more words of a word group with the same letter, as in apt alliteration's artful aid.
Origin of alliteration
1650–60; < Medieval Latin
alliterātiōn-, stem of
alliterātiō, equivalent to
al-
al- +
literātiō, modeled after
obliterātiō
obliteration but intended to convey a derivative of
littera letter
Words nearby alliteration
allingham,
allis's sign,
allision,
allison,
alliterate,
alliteration,
alliterative,
allium,
allmouth,
allness,
allo-
Example sentences from the Web for alliteration
British Dictionary definitions for alliteration
alliteration
/ (əˌlɪtəˈreɪʃən) /
noun
the use of the same consonant (consonantal alliteration) or of a vowel, not necessarily the same vowel (vocalic alliteration), at the beginning of each word or each stressed syllable in a line of verse, as in around the rock the ragged rascal ran
Derived forms of alliteration
alliterative, adjectiveWord Origin for alliteration
C17: from Medieval Latin
alliterātiō (from Latin
al- (see
ad-) +
litera letter), on the model of
obliterātiō
obliteration
Cultural definitions for alliteration
alliteration
[ (uh-lit-uh-ray-shuhn) ]
The repetition of the beginning sounds of words, as in “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,” “long-lived,” “short shrift,” and “the fickle finger of fate.”