Alliteration
Etymology
A Neo-Latin coinage, alliterātiō, from Latin ad- ("to") + littera ("letter") — "a lettering-toward," repeating the same letter. It was minted by Renaissance scholars to name a pattern older English poetry had used for centuries as its main structural device, long before rhyme took over.
noun · /uh-lit-uh-RAY-shun/
The repetition of the same initial consonant sound across neighboring words.
What it names
The stickiness of "PayPal," "Coca-Cola," and "big brother" — a sonic rhyme at the front of words that makes phrases memorable and fun to say.
Example
The headline’s alliteration did the heavy lifting: "Startup Stumbles, Sheds Staff."
Related idea
Assonance repeats vowel sounds anywhere within words; alliteration specifically repeats the consonant sound at their start.