echoism

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂gʰ-der.

Proto-Hellenic *wākʰā́

Ancient Greek ἠχή (ēkhḗ)

Proto-Indo-European *-ṓy

Ancient Greek -ώ (-ṓ)

Ancient Greek ἠχώ (ēkhṓ)bor.

Latin ēchō

Medieval Latin ēccōbor.

Middle English eccho

English echo

Proto-Indo-European *-id-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti

Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)

Proto-Indo-European *-mos

Proto-Indo-European *-mós

Ancient Greek -μός (-mós)

Ancient Greek -ῐσμός (-ĭsmós)der.

English -ism

English echoism

From echo + -ism.

Noun

echoism (countable and uncountable, plural echoisms)

1. The practice of creating words or language by imitating sounds from the environment.
   • 1999, Marcel Danesi, Paul Perron, Analyzing Cultures: An Introduction and Handbook, page 139:

     One possibility is that language developed from echoism, i.e. from attempts of early humans to imitate natural sounds and react vocally to emotions.

   • 2011, Karl Bühler, Theory of Language: The Representational Function of Language:

     That is the simple account of the motivation for the phenomenon of sound symbolism or echoism.