lenis

[ lee-nis, ley- ]

/ ˈli nɪs, ˈleɪ- /

Phonetics

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adjective

pronounced with relatively weak muscular tension and breath pressure, resulting in weak sound effect: in stressed or unstressed position, (b, d, g, j, v, th̸, z, and zh) are lenis in English, as compared with (p, t, k, ch, f, th, s, and sh), which are fortis.Compare fortis (def. 1).

noun, plural le·nes

[lee-neez, ley-]. /ˈli niz, ˈleɪ-/.

a lenis consonant.

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Origin of lenis

1925–30; <Latin: soft, mild, gentle

Words nearby lenis

Leningrad, Leninism, Leninist, Lenin Peak, Leninsk-Kuznetski, lenis, lenite, lenitic, lenition, lenitive, lenity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use lenis in a sentence

The modern Cubans pronounce it like the English w with the spiritus lenis.
The Arawack Language of Guiana in its Linguistic and Ethnological Relations|Daniel G. Brinton
Nutritur vento, vento restinguitur ignis: / Lenis alit flammas, grandior aura necat!
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood
In six other characters studied they most closely approach lenis to which they are here referred.
The Pocket Gophers (Genus Thomomys) of Utah, Vol. 1 No. 1|Stephen D. Durrant
Intergradation with lenis is also shown in some specimens by the widely spreading zygomatic arches.
The Pocket Gophers (Genus Thomomys) of Utah, Vol. 1 No. 1|Stephen D. Durrant

The latter valley in this area is inhabited by pocket gophers that belong to another subspecies, lenis.
The Pocket Gophers (Genus Thomomys) of Utah, Vol. 1 No. 1|Stephen D. Durrant

British Dictionary definitions for lenis

lenis

/ (ˈliːnɪs) phonetics /

adjective

(of a consonant) articulated with weak muscular tension

noun plural lenes (ˈliːniːz)

a consonant, such as English b or v, pronounced with weak muscular force

Compare fortis

Word Origin for lenis

C19: from Latin: gentle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012