Favorite Word 1

[CajunCenturion]

What word do you like the most? Why?
What word do you like the least? Why?

Good Luck
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[Mr3Putt]

Of course what you write is absolutely true, but it should be noted that I indicated that it may "lead others to believe that something rhymes".

I would bet, and probably give odds, that if you asked 100 members of the general public to define "poetic", and then asked them to write two lines that fit their description... you'd end up with a preponderance (70%) of A-A formats. [gray]it should be noted that Mr3Putt has no earthly idea of how the wager described above would actually turn out. wagers made using Mr3Putt's probability figures may turn out very badly. Mr3Putt accepts no responsibility for such wagers. see disclaimer below.[/gray]

Note that "general public" does not seem to describe the members of Tek-Tips' various word-smithing fora. It probably does not describe people who can give examples of onomatopoeia, either.

[red]Note:[/red] [gray]The above comments are the opinionated ravings of Mr3Putt. As such, Mr3Putt accepts no responsibility for damages, real or contrived, resulting from acceptance of his opinions as fact.[/gray]

 

[mscallisto]

My older Funk and Wagnels Dictionary lists onomatomaniac as one with an obsession to some words (usually "bad" words)

 

[SilentAiche]

Tracy makes a good point. I don't think the letters "poetic" in onomatopoetic would be pronounced "poh-eh-tic", but rather "pee-tic" in keeping with the pronunciation of the root word.

Two cents from a guy with a penny...

Tim

 

[Mr3Putt]

Tim, Tracy, et al

I understand the point. Still, print out the word "onomatopoetic" and hand it to a coworker to pronounce... results? Even folks who have a nagging memory of what it means will probabl pronounce this form incorrectly.

I'm gonna go ahead and guess that "po-eh-tic" wins in a landslide. Even have them look it up, get the definition, pronounce the root word correctly for them, then have them pronounce the word in question again... [time out for testing] ...my results have 4 of 5 folks pronouncing "po-eh-tic" both times. My good fellow, Mr K has pronounced and defined the word(s) correctly, detail-oriented bugger that he is (that's why I hired him).

As in all things, your mileage may vary.

[red]Note:[/red] [gray]The above comments are the opinionated ravings of Mr3Putt. As such, Mr3Putt accepts no responsibility for damages, real or contrived, resulting from acceptance of his opinions as fact.[/gray]

 

[ESquared]

I like the poetic ending. And it's pronounced the same way as the word poetic. And it doesn't confuse me in any way or cause me to think of rhymes or other nonsense except for what the word means.

From m-w.com, on·o·mato·po·et·i·cal·ly /-pO-'e-ti-k(&-)lE/

 

[tsdragon]

ESquared: I noticed that pronunciation. That's the way I would think it should be pronounced, and the way I prefer it. It never occurred to me to pronounce it "pee-et-ic".


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I think it varies as to whether or not you include the 't'.

onomatopoeic - is pronounced poh ee ik (my preference)
onomatopoetic - is pronounced poh e tik.

Either is correct, but I prefer the former because there is no reason to add the letter 't'. You also have the same two options with adverb form of the word

onomatopoeically (with hard 'e')
onomatopoetically (with soft 'e')

Use the hard 'e without the 't' and a soft 'e' with the 't'.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein