Containing or using alliteration; characterized by the repetition of beginning sounds in nearby words.
From 'alliterate' plus the adjective suffix '-ive,' meaning 'tending to' or 'characterized by.' The root ultimately derives from Medieval Latin 'alliteratio.'
Old English poetry like 'Beowulf' was originally alliterative rather than rhyming—poets used repeated starting sounds instead of end-rhymes to create the rhythm and structure of their lines, which is why it sounds so different from modern poetry!
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