assonance

Forms

assonance f (plural assonances)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish asonancia, the word for assonance in Spanish ballads, a learned derivative of asonar (“to be assonant”), from Latin assonō (“to echo, answer with a sound”).^{[2][3][4][1][5]} The Petit Robert derives it straight from adsonō, from sonus (“sound”),^[6] and Littré from assonant.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in Furetière's dictionary in 1690.^[3][2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word names the repetition of the same vowel sound, and in verse a rhyme reduced to the last stressed vowel, as opposed to full rhyme.^[3][5] Littré notes that the oldest French poems are assonanced rather than rhymed.^[7] The adjective assonant followed in 1721 and the verb assoner at the end of the 19th century.^[2]

English assonance (1727) is from the French word.^[8]

Timeline

• 1690 – First recorded by Furetière.^[3][2]
• 1721 – Assonant is recorded.^[2]
• 1727 – English assonance is recorded.^[8]
• Late 19th century – Assoner is recorded.^[2]
• 20th century – The adjective assonancé is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The repetition of the same vowel sound in a sentence or line, as opposed to alliteration.^[3][5][6]
2. (versification) In verse, an imperfect rhyme, in which only the last stressed vowel is the same, as in sombre and tondre.^[3][5][6]

Word family

• assonant
• assoner
• assonancé

Related words

• consonance
• dissonance
• résonance
• Latin assonō

Usage notes

It is spelled with a single ⟨n⟩, like assonant and assoner, and like consonance, dissonance and résonance.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com