sonant

[ soh-nuh nt ]
/ ˈsoʊ nənt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR sonant ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of sonant

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

OTHER WORDS FROM sonant

Words nearby sonant

son-, son-in-law, son-of-a-bitch stew, sonal, sonance, sonant, sonar, sonarman, sonata, sonata da camera, sonata da chiesa

Words related to sonant

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

Example sentences 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 forms of sonant

sonance, noun sonantal (səʊˈnæntəl) or sonantic, adjective

Word Origin for sonant

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