Aspirated

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to speech sounds that incorporate a noticeable release of breath
2. Relating to specific phonetic articulations where air is forcefully expelled during sound production
3. Characterized by a pronounced burst of breath when pronouncing certain consonants

Etymology: In Latin, "aspirare" meant "to breathe upon" or "to blow toward," formed from "ad-" (toward) and "spirare" (to breathe). Latin grammarians used its past participle, "aspiratus," for sounds accompanied by a puff of breath. The letter h was called "littera aspirata," the breathed letter. Greek had a similar idea. Its rough breathing mark, "spiritus asper," signaled an initial h-sound, and the Greek letters theta, phi, and chi were pronounced as breathed stops. That is why English transliterates them as "th," "ph," and "ch." In modern phonetics, the term describes the small puff of air released after certain consonants. English speakers produce it in "pin" but not in "spin," which is why the two p-sounds are treated as different in phonetic transcription.

Synonyms: exhaled, inhaled