'alliteral' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'alliteratio,' where 'ad-' meant 'to' and 'littera' meant 'letter.'

'alliteratio' transformed into the English word 'alliteration,' and eventually became the adjective 'alliteral' in modern English.

Initially, it meant 'the repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent words,' and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.