Echo word is a linguistic term that refers to reduplication as a widespread areal feature in the languages of South Asia.
For example, Tamil echo words are formed with a ki(i) sequence overwriting the onset and nucleus of the first syllable of the reduplicant (Keane 2001).
In general, Dravidian languages form echo words with velar-initial fixed syllables (gi- or ki-).
Indo-Aryan languages typically use labial fixed onsets (ʋ-, p-, pʰ-, b-, or m-).
Some reduplicative patterns in Persian and in Turkish and other Turkic languages have sometimes been classified as echo word formation as well.