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

'alliteratio' transformed into the French word 'alliteration,' and eventually became the modern English word 'alliterative' through Middle English.

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