'onomatopoeic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'onomatopoiētikos', ultimately from 'onomatopoiia' where 'onoma' meant 'name' and 'poiein' meant 'to make'.

'onomatopoeic' developed via Late Latin and Medieval/Modern English from Greek 'onomatopoiētikos' (through Latinized forms related to 'onomatopoeia') and eventually became the modern English adjective 'onomatopoeic'.

Initially related to 'making a name' (literal components from Greek), the sense evolved to mean 'forming or imitating a name/sound', and now specifically denotes words that imitate sounds ('sound-imitative').