consonant
English
WOTD – 30 April 2012
Etymology
From Middle English consonant or consonaunt, from Old French consonant, from Latin cōnsonāns (“sounding with”), from the prefix con- (“with”) + the present participle sonāns (“sounding”), from sonāre (“to sound”). The Latin is a calque of Ancient Greek σύμφωνον (súmphōnon).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kŏn'sənənt, IPA(key): /ˈkɒn.sə.nənt/
- (US) enPR: kän's(ə)nənt, IPA(key): /ˈkɑn.sə.nənt/, /ˈkɑns.nənt/
Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -ɒnsənənt, -ɑnsənənt, -ɑnsnənt
Noun
consonant (plural consonants)
- (phonetics) A sound that results from the passage of air through restrictions of the oral cavity; any sound that is not the dominant sound of a syllable, the dominant sound generally being a vowel.
- A letter representing the sound of a consonant.
- The 20 unquestionable consonants in the English alphabet are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W,
X, Z.
- 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], OCLC 16832619:
- Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.
- 1908, Jack London, chapter 4, in The Iron Heel, New York: The Macmillan Company:
- “Tell me, has right anything to do with the law?” I asked. “You have used the wrong initial consonant,” he smiled in answer. “Might?” I queried; and he nodded his head.
-
Derived terms
- consonant cluster
- consonant gradation
- consonant stem
- nasal consonant
Descendants
- → Swahili: konsonanti
Translations
sound
|
letter
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
Adjective
consonant (comparative more consonant, superlative most consonant)
- consistent, harmonious, compatible, or in agreement
- 1710, William Beveridge, The true nature of the Christian church, the office of its ministers, and the means of grace administred by them explain'd. In twelve sermons
- Each one pretends that his opinion […] is consonant to the words there used.
- 1900, Sabine Baring-Gould, "The Rev. Mr. Carter, Parson-Publican", in Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events
- Cheerfulness, even gaiety, is consonant with every species of virtue and practice of religion, and I think it inconsistent only with impiety and vice.
- 1946, United States Supreme Court, Pennekamp v. Florida 328 U.S. 331,334
- This essential right of the courts to be free of intimidation and coercion was held to be consonant with a recognition that freedom of the press must be allowed in the broadest scope compatible with the supremacy of order.
- 1710, William Beveridge, The true nature of the Christian church, the office of its ministers, and the means of grace administred by them explain'd. In twelve sermons
- Having the same sound.
- 1645-1650, James Howell, Epistolae Ho-Elianae
- consonant words and syllables
- 1645-1650, James Howell, Epistolae Ho-Elianae
- (music) Harmonizing together; accordant.
- consonant tones; consonant chords
- Of or relating to consonants; made up of, or containing many, consonants.
- 1813, Thomas Moore, Intercepted Letters, or the Two-Penny Post-Bag
- No Russian whose dissonant consonant name / Almost shatters to fragments the trumpet of fame.
- 1813, Thomas Moore, Intercepted Letters, or the Two-Penny Post-Bag
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:consonant.
Antonyms
- disconsonant
- dissonant
- discordant
Related terms
- consonance
- consonantal
Translations
Characterized by harmony or agreement
|
See also
- vowel
- semivowel
- Wikipedia article on consonants
Catalan
Etymology
From Latin consonans, attested from the 14th century.[1]
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Valencian) IPA(key): /kon.soˈnant/
- (Central) IPA(key): /kun.suˈnan/
- Rhymes: -ant
Adjective
consonant (masculine and feminine plural consonants)
- consonant
Noun
consonant f (plural consonants)
- consonant
Derived terms
- consonàntic
References
- “consonant”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
Further reading
- “consonant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “consonant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “consonant” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Adjective
consonant (feminine consonante, masculine plural consonants, feminine plural consonantes)
- consonant
Further reading
- “consonant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈkon.so.nant/, [ˈkõːs̠ɔnän̪t̪]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈkon.so.nant/, [ˈkɔnsonän̪t̪]
Verb
cōnsonant
- third-person plural present active indicative of cōnsonō
Romanian
Etymology
From Latin consonans or French consonant.
Adjective
consonant m or n (feminine singular consonantă, masculine plural consonanți, feminine and neuter plural consonante)
- consonant
Declension
Declension of consonant
| singular | plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | ||
| nominative/ accusative | indefinite | consonant | consonantă | consonanți | consonante | ||
| definite | consonantul | consonanta | consonanții | consonantele | |||
| genitive/ dative | indefinite | consonant | consonante | consonanți | consonante | ||
| definite | consonantului | consonantei | consonanților | consonantelor | |||