spirant
Americannoun
adjective
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of spirant
1865–70; < Latin spīrant- (stem of spīrāns, present participle of spīrāre to breathe); see spirit, -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
G is the soft spirant, not used in English.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 8 "Dubner" to "Dyeing" by Various
The Sco. garth has changed the original voiced spirant to a voiceless one.
From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias
It is classed as a surd spirant, its corresponding sonant spirant being v, which is distinguished from f by being pronounced with voice instead of breath, as may be perceived by pronouncing ef, ev.
From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 3: Estremoz to Felspar by Various
Later, as Latin did not use for the consonant written as v in vis, &c. , was dropped and received a new special value in Latin as representative of the unvoiced labio-dental spirant.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 1 "Evangelical Church Conference" to "Fairbairn, Sir William" by Various
How he would lie! and what lungs he had to lie with! immensa cavi spirant mendacia folles!
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 368, June 1846 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
