spirant : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: spirant	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for spirant
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
spirant adj of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then') Synonym(s): fricative, continuant, sibilant, spirant, strident n a continuant consonant produced by breath moving against a narrowing of the vocal tract Synonym(s): fricative consonant, fricative, spirant
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Spirant \Spi"rant\, n. [L. spirans, -antis, p. pr. of spirare to breathe. See {Spirit}.] (Phon.) A term used differently by different authorities; -- by some as equivalent to fricative, -- that is, as including all the continuous consonants, except the nasals m, n, ng; with the further exception, by others, of the liquids r, l, and the semivowels w, y; by others limited to f, v, th surd and sonant, and the sound of German ch, -- thus excluding the sibilants, as well as the nasals, liquids, and semivowels. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 197-208.