lenition

[ li-nish-uhn ]

noun
  1. Phonetics. a phonological process that weakens consonant articulation at the ends of syllables or between vowels, causing the consonant to become voiced, spirantized, or deleted.

  2. Linguistics. a type of Celtic mutation that derives historically from phonological lenition.

Origin of lenition

1
1535–45 for obsolete sense “mitigation, assuaging”; 1910–15 for current senses; <Latin lēnīt(us) (past participle of lēnīre to soften; see lenis, -ite2) + -ion

Words Nearby lenition

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