sonant

so·nant

[soh-nuhnt]
adjective
1.
sounding; having sound.
2.
Phonetics. voiced (opposed to surd ).
noun Phonetics.
3.
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 ).
4.
a voiced sound (opposed to surd ).
5.
(in Indo-European) a sonorant.
00:10
Sonant is always a great word to know.
So is resonant. Does it mean:
a vowel or a voiced consonant or semivowel that is neither a stop nor an affricate
pronounced with rounded lips; labialized

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

so·nan·tal [soh-nan-tl] , so·nan·tic [soh-nan-tik] , adjective
in·ter·so·nant, adjective
non·so·nant, adjective, noun
un·so·nant, adjective
un·so·nan·tal, adjective
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
sonant (ˈsəʊnənt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  phonetics denoting a voiced sound capable of forming a syllable or syllable nucleus
2.  inherently possessing, exhibiting, or producing a sound
 
n
3.  phonetics a voiced sound belonging to the class of frictionless continuants or nasals (l, r, m, n, ) considered from the point of view of being a vowel and, in this capacity, able to form a syllable or syllable nucleus
 
[C19: from Latin sonāns sounding, from sonāre to make a noise, resound]
 
'sonance
 
n
 
sonantal
 
adj
 
so'nantic
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sonant
1846, from L. sonantem (nom. sonans), prp. of sonare "make a noise," related to sonus "sound" (see sound (n.1)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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