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phonaesthesia

(US also phonesthesia)
Definition of phonaesthesia

noun

[mass noun]
  • attribution of common elements of meaning or connotation to certain sound sequences, especially consonant clusters, for example initial sl-, as in slow, sleep, slush, slide, slip.

Origin:

1950s: modern Latin, from Greek phōnē 'sound' + aesthesthai 'perceive'

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