English
assonance
Assonance comes from Latin assonō ‘to sound to, respond to, reply to’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swenh₂-‘to sound’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*swonh₂éyetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*swonaō‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonō‘sound, resound’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEassonōas assonāre‘to sound to, respond to, reply to’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentassonance
- Englishearliest quotation 1938same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swenh₂-‘to sound’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*swonh₂éyetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*swonaō‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonō‘sound, resound’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEassonōas assonāre‘to sound to, respond to, reply to’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentassonance
- Englishearliest quotation 1938same form
Earliest quotation: 1938, T.H. White: “You should try to speak without assonances" said Merlyn.…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- ‘to sound’
sound, swan, unison, sonnet, sone, 9 more
through Proto-Italic *swonaō ‘to sound, resound’
through Latin sonō ‘sound, resound’
re, personal, personnel, resonance, resonate, resonant, parson, resound, sonorous, consonance, 6 more
Today it means
noun The repetition of similar or identical vowel sounds (though with different consonants), usually in literature or poetry.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- / assonance