definitions

sonant

[ soh-nuh nt ]
/ ˈsoʊ nənt /
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adjective

sounding; having sound.
Phonetics. voiced (opposed to surd).

noun Phonetics.

a speech sound that by itself makes a syllable or subordinates to itself the other sounds in the syllable; a syllabic sound (opposed to consonant).
a voiced sound (opposed to surd).
(in Indo-European) a sonorant.

RELATED WORDS

oral, lyric, voiced, singing, choral, vowel, sung, articulate, phonetic, pronounced, said, spoken, uttered, verbal, articulated, expressed, operatic, phonic, vocalic

Nearby words

son-, son-in-law, son-of-a-bitch stew, sonal, sonance, sonant, sonantal, sonantic, sonar, sonarman, sonata

Origin of sonant

1840–50; < Latin sonānt- (stem of sonāns), present participle of sonāre to sound1. See son-, -ant
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sonant

British Dictionary definitions for sonant

sonant

/ (ˈsəʊnənt) /

adjective

phonetics denoting a voiced sound capable of forming a syllable or syllable nucleus
inherently possessing, exhibiting, or producing a sound

noun

phonetics a voiced sound belonging to the class of frictionless continuants or nasals (l, r, m, n, ŋ) considered from the point of view of being a vowel and, in this capacity, able to form a syllable or syllable nucleus
Derived Formssonance, nounsonantal (səʊˈnæntəl) or sonantic, adjective

Word Origin for sonant

C19: from Latin sonāns sounding, from sonāre to make a noise, resound
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

Word Origin and History for sonant

sonant

adj.

1846, from Latin sonantem (nominative sonans), present participle of sonare "make a noise," (see sonata). As a noun from 1849.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper