sonorant
[suh-nawr-uh nt, -nohr-, soh-]Phonetics
- a voiced sound that is less sonorous than a vowel but more sonorous than a stop or fricative and that may occur as either a sonant or a consonant, as (l, r, m, n, y, w).
- a speech sound characterized by relatively free air passage through some channel, as a vowel, semivowel, liquid, or nasal.Compare obstruent.
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- of, relating to, or having the properties of a sonorant.
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Origin of sonorant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
thrillingringingprofoundrichmellowsonorousresonantearsplittingforcefulthunderousroaringloudemphaticelectrifyingthunderingboomingresoundingstridentthrobbingfullsonorant
- one of the frictionless continuants or nasals (l, r, m, n, ŋ) having consonantal or vocalic functions depending on its situation within the syllable
- either of the two consonants represented in English orthography by w or y and regarded as either consonantal or vocalic articulations of the vowels iː and uː
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Word Origin
from Latin sonor a noise + -ant
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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