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.
The spirant th corresponding to O. N. ð, and O. E. d.
From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias
In Late Latin there was a tendency to this spirant pronunciation which appears as early as the beginning of the 2nd century A.D.; by the 3rd century b and consonantal u are inextricably confused.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1 "Austria, Lower" to "Bacon" 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
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
That the spirant J was in all cases pronounced as Y there is scarcely room for doubt.
From The History of Roman Literature From the earliest period to the death of Marcus Aurelius by Cruttwell, Charles Thomas
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.
