sonant

[ soh-nuhnt ]

/ ˈsoʊ nənt /

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See synonyms for: sonant / sonants on Thesaurus.com

Definition of sonant

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.

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Origin of sonant

1840–50; <Latin sonānt- (stem of sonāns), present participle of sonāre to sound¹. See son-, -ant

OTHER WORDS FROM sonant

so·nan·tal

[soh-nan-tl], /soʊˈnæn tl/, so·nan·tic

[soh-nan-tik], /soʊˈnæn tɪk/, adjectivein·ter·so·nant, adjectivenon·so·nant, adjective, nounun·so·nant, adjective

un·so·nan·tal, adjective

Words nearby sonant

so much the, somy, son, sonal, sonance, sonant, sonar, sonarman, sonata, sonata da camera, sonata da chiesa

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sonant in a sentence

Surdimū′tism, the condition of being deaf and dumb; Surd′ity, want of sonant quality.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
The terms sonant and surd are, in a scientific point of view, the least exceptionable.
A Handbook of the English Language|Robert Gordon Latham
His hands moved quietly; his voice was clear and sonant; his words were few and polite.
Life Immovable|Kostes Palamas
Sonant melliflua hymnorum organa, suavissima angelorum melodia, cantica canticorum mira!
Notre-Dame de Paris|Victor Hugo

The sonant and the interval of each element were measured, and all the pauses except the stanza pause were recorded.
Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 1|Various

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 forms of sonant

sonance, 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

sonant

Definition of sonant

Origin of sonant

OTHER WORDS FROM sonant

Words nearby sonant

Words related to sonant

How to use sonant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sonant

Derived forms of sonant

Word Origin for sonant