continuant

[ kuhn-tin-yoo-uhnt ]

noun
  1. a consonant, as f or s, that may be prolonged without change of quality.: Compare stop (def. 34).

adjective
  1. pertaining to or noting a continuant.

Origin of continuant

1
1600–10; <Latin continuant-, stem of continuāns, present participle of continuāre to continue; see -ant

Words Nearby continuant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use continuant in a sentence

  • In standard English the h is a glottal continuant only when there is precise and emphatic utterance.

  • The passage would be too narrow, there would be friction, and a continuant would be the result (see § 34).

  • This r is a kind of palatal blade continuant, and its use should be avoided, as it is generally held to be affected.

  • continuant nostre routte, navigasmes par trois jours sans rien descouvrir.

    Crotchet Castle | Thomas Love Peacock

British Dictionary definitions for continuant

continuant

/ (kənˈtɪnjʊənt) phonetics /


noun
  1. a speech sound, such as (l), (r), (f), or (s), in which the closure of the vocal tract is incomplete, allowing the continuous passage of the breath

adjective
  1. relating to or denoting a continuant

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012