Editing Alliteration (section)

== Historical use ==
{{main|Alliterative verse|Alliterative Revival}}
The word ''alliteration'' comes from the Latin word ''littera'', meaning "letter of the alphabet". It was first coined in a Latin dialogue by the Italian humanist [[Giovanni Pontano]] in the 15th century.{{sfn|Clarke|1976}}

Alliteration is used in the [[alliterative verse]] of [[Old English]] poems like [[Beowulf]], [[Middle English]] poems like [[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]], [[Old Norse]] works like the [[Poetic Edda]], and in [[Old High German]], [[Old Saxon]], and [[Old Irish]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Travis |first=James |date=1942 |title=The Relations between Early Celtic and Early Germanic Alliteration |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19306962.1942.11786083 |journal=The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=99–105 |doi=10.1080/19306962.1942.11786083 |issn=0016-8890}}</ref> It was also used as an ornament to suggest connections between ideas in classical Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit poetry.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Salvador-Gimeno |first=Marina |date=2021-12-31 |title=Alliteration as a Rhythmic Device in Latin Literature: General Clarifications and Proposal for a New Vertical Variant, Alliteration Before or After the Caesura |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.12697/smp.2021.8.2.05 |journal=Studia Metrica et Poetica |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=80–107 |doi=10.12697/smp.2021.8.2.05 |issn=2346-691X|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shewan |first=A. |date=1925 |title=Alliteration and Assonance in Homer |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/360690 |journal=Classical Philology |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=193–209 |doi=10.1086/360690 |issn=0009-837X}}</ref>{{sfn|Langer|1978}}{{sfn|Jha|1975}}

Today, alliteration is used poetically in various languages around the world, including [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Irish language|Irish]], [[German language|German]], [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[American Sign Language]], [[Somali language|Somali]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]], and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]].{{sfn|Roper|2011}}  It is also used in music [[lyrics]], article titles in magazines and newspapers, and in advertisements, business names, comic strips, television shows, video games and in the dialogue and naming of cartoon characters.{{sfn|Coard|1959|pp=30–32}}