assonance English · revision 1282

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈæsənəns/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|assonance]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''assonant'', [[der|la|assonans]], the present participle of ''assonāre'' “to resound, answer with the same sound”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from ''ad-'' “to” and ''sonāre'' “to sound”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) It is related to [[sound]] and [[sonant]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Resemblance of sound between words or syllables (1727).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In prosody, from 1823, the word meant the rhyming of accented vowels without the consonants, as in ''stony'' and ''holy''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) From the early 20th century it has also been used for half-rhyme in general (1917),^(OED 1989) and Etymonline notes that it tended to merge with [[consonance]], although the two are properly distinct.^(Etymonline) In a transferred sense it means a rough or partial agreement (1868).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1727 – resemblance of sound.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1823 – vowel rhyme in prosody.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1868 – partial correspondence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1917 – half-rhyme.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Resemblance of sound, especially of vowels, between words or syllables.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In verse, the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds with different consonants, as in ''tilting at windmills''; vowel [[rhyme]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Rough similarity; partial agreement.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[assonant]]

+ * [[assonantal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[consonance]]

+ * [[alliteration]]

+ * [[sonant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}