Consonantised

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Converted from a vowel or other sound into a consonant, as when a vowel takes on a consonantal role in pronunciation
2. Having been altered so that a sound functions as a consonant rather than as a vowel or semivowel
3. Changed in sound or role so that it behaves as a consonant within the structure of a language

Etymology: The root of "consonantised" is the Latin "consonans," which meant "sounding together." Latin grammarians adapted it from the Greek "symphōnon," used for letters that could only be pronounced alongside a vowel. The vowel carried the sound, and the consonant sounded with it. English took the noun "consonant" from Latin, and the verb grew from that noun. The suffix "-ise" (or "-ize") turns a noun into a verb meaning "to make into or treat as" the thing named. So to consonantise a vowel, or a sound, is to change it into a consonant, or to treat it as one. The past participle "consonantised" carries that sense as an adjective too, as in a "consonantised" vowel, a vowel that has taken on consonant-like behaviour.