Onomatopoeia

An onomatopoeia (pronounced: "on-uh-mat-uh-pee-uh") was a word that phonetically sounded like or imitated the sound that it described, such as those of an animals or inanimate objects.

Onomatopoeias

"Ahem"

A sound made to get someone's attention.

• TOS: "Spectre of the Gun"; DS9: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places", "The Begotten"; VOY: "Cold Fire", "Hunters"; ENT: "Sleeping Dogs"
• Odo often made the sound to get the attention someone, notably Quark. (DS9: "The Collaborator", "The Muse", "The Assignment")

"Babble"

• TNG: "Justice"

"Ba-boom boom"

The sound of a rimshot on a drum.

• TNG: "The Outrageous Okona"

"Bang(ing)"

The sound of a gun being fired or a hammer being struck.

• Miles O'Brien pretending to shoot Odo during a tactical simulation. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")
• ENT: "Silent Enemy"; TNG: "Q Who"; DS9: "Little Green Men", "The Siege of AR-558"

"Bonk"

The sound associated with hitting someone over the head.

• This was common figure of speech used by the children of Earth Two, especially the red-headed boy, who usually coerced the rest of the children into a chant, "Bonk bonk! Bonk bonk! Bonk bonk! Bonk bonk!" (TOS: "Miri")

"Boom!"

The sound of an explosion.

• TOS: "I, Mudd"; TNG: "Elementary, Dear Data"; DS9: "For the Cause"; VOY: "Non Sequitur", "Fair Trade", "Timeless", "Bliss", "Dark Frontier", "Warhead", "One Small Step"

"Buzz(ing)"

A vibrating sound.

• TOS: "The Cage", "Operation -- Annihilate!"; TNG: "The Outrageous Okona"; DS9: "The Ascent", "His Way"; VOY: "Juggernaut"

"Clap(ping)"

The sound of an open palms stricking another.

• ENT: "Demons"; DS9: "His Way"

"Cluck(ed)"

The sound made by a chicken.

• Captain Jean-Luc Picard accused Commander Riker of being a mother hen, by first stating "Oh, cluck, cluck, Number One," when the commander disapproved of the captain beaming down to Ramatis III along with Riva. (TNG: "Loud As A Whisper")
• Macias, a Bajoran who lived in the DMZ, spoke of the night he was dragged from his bed by the Cardassians and beaten. He then added that "The authorities clucked their tongues and agreed it was an unfortunate incident, and did nothing." (TNG: "Preemptive Strike")

"Crack"

• TOS: "The Way to Eden"

"Cuckoo"

• DS9: "Image in the Sand"; VOY: "Concerning Flight"

"Fizz", "Fizzled"

• TNG: "Night Terrors", DS9: "Valiant"

"Growl(ing)"

• TNG: "Q Who", Star Trek: Insurrection; DS9: "The Wire", "Sons of Mogh"

"Ha!"

The sound of a laugh.

• VOY: "One Small Step"

"Hiccup"

• TNG: "We'll Always Have Paris", "Contagion"; VOY: "Lifesigns"

"Hissing"

• During on particular encounter with Data's cat Spot, Commander William T. Riker recalled the moments leading up to his being scratched, concluding the story with... "The next thing I know there's a hissing ball of fur coming at my face." (TNG: "Timescape")
• According to Quark, "Defective anodyne circuits make a hissing sound." (DS9: "The Ascent")

"Hum(ming)"

• Kirk and Spock identified a sound described as a "low hum" as being the sound of a phaser set on overload. (TOS: "The Conscience of the King"
• TNG: "Home Soil", "Violations"; DS9: "Equilibrium", "Explorers", "Business as Usual"; VOY: "The Void"

"Knock"

• ENT: "Fight or Flight", "Carpenter Street", "Azati Prime"; TOS: "The Changeling"; TAS: "One of Our Planets Is Missing"; TNG: "The Dauphin", "Shades of Gray", "The Survivors", Star Trek: First Contact; DS9: "One Little Ship"

"Meow"

• TOS: "Assignment: Earth"

"Peep"

• VOY: "The Raven", "Bliss"

"Poof!"

• TOS: "The Doomsday Machine"; TNG: "Time's Arrow", "Realm of Fear"; VOY: "Spirit Folk"

"Pooh"

A sound made to signify something smells bad.

• Quark made an audible "pooh" when he smelled a crate of very ripe Livanian beets. (DS9: "Who Mourns for Morn?")

"Purr"

The sound made by a cat. (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles"; TNG: "Ménage à Troi", "Identity Crisis"; DS9: "Second Sight"; VOY: "Life Line")

"Quack"

• DS9: "Prophet Motive"

"Roar(ing)"

• TOS: "Day of the Dove"; TNG: "The Last Outpost", "The Neutral Zone", "The Dauphin"; DS9: "The Way of the Warrior"; VOY: "False Profits"

"Shh"

The sound made to quiet someone. (TOS: "Miri", "The Conscience of the King", et al.)

"Shush"

Said to quiet someone. (ENT: "Fight or Flight", "Shuttlepod One", "Singularity", "Hatchery"; DIS: "Context Is for Kings"; TNG: "The Price"; DS9: "Bar Association"; VOY: "Caretaker", "Elogium", "Resistance", "Remember", "Day of Honor"; "Message in a Bottle", "Latent Image", "The Disease", "Course: Oblivion", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy", "Spirit Folk", "Fury", "The Haunting of Deck Twelve", "Repression", "Inside Man", "Body and Soul", "Prophecy", "Homestead")

"Splash"

The sound of something being dropped into the water. (VOY: "Waking Moments", "Once Upon a Time"

"Tut-tut"

The sound of disapproval. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)

"Ugh"

A sound of disgust or annoyance. (DS9: "Nor the Battle to the Strong", "Inquisition"; VOY: "Jetrel", "Parturition", "Live Fast and Prosper"; ENT: "Sleeping Dogs")

"Woof"

The sound made by a dog.

• Lwaxana Troi often referred to Lieutenant Worf as "Mister Woof". (TNG: "Half a Life", "Cost of Living", "Dark Page")

"Woosh"

• DS9: "Past Tense, Part II"

"Zap"

• TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver"; VOY: "The Haunting of Deck Twelve"

Appendices

Related terms

• Arcturian fizz
• Bang Bang
• Bellows Breath
• Cuckoo clock
• Dalvin hissing beetle
• Heart flutter
• Makara fizz
• Roaring Twenties
• Screech rhino

External link

• Onomatopoeia at Wikipedia