[31]
On the other hand, onomatopoea, that is to say, the
creation of a word, although regarded with the
highest approbation by the Greeks, is scarcely permissible to a Roman. It is true that many words
were created in this way by the original founders of
the language, who adapted them to suit the sensation
which they expressed. For instance, mugitus, lowing,
sibilus, a hiss, and murmur owe their origin to this
practice.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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