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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Onomatopoeia \On`o*mat`o*poe"ia\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?; 'o`noma,
'ono`matos, a name poiei^n to make.] (Philol.)
The formation of words in imitation of sounds; a figure of
speech in which the sound of a word is imitative of the sound
of the thing which the word represents; as, the buzz of bees;
the hiss of a goose; the crackle of fire.
[1913 Webster]

Note: It has been maintained by some philologist that all
primary words, especially names, were formed by
imitation of natural sounds, but this is not believed
by most.
[1913 Webster PJC]