Dingdong theory

Ding´dong` the´o`ry

1.

(Philol.) The theory which maintains that the primitive elements of language are reflex expressions induced by sensory impressions; that is, as stated by Max Müller, the creative faculty gave to each general conception as it thrilled for the first time through the brain a phonetic expression; - jocosely so called from the analogy of the sound of a bell induced by the stroke of the clapper.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, published 1913 by G. & C. Merriam Co.