Lenited

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a consonant that has been weakened in sound, as happens in Irish and Welsh grammar under certain conditions
2. Referring to a sound that has undergone softening, such as a stop becoming a fricative in certain Celtic language contexts
3. Characterizing a consonant whose pronunciation has been softened by a grammatical or phonetic process in Celtic languages

Etymology: "Lenited" is the past tense and past participle of "lenite," a verb meaning to undergo lenition, the weakening of a consonant's sound. The verb is a back-formation: speakers took the noun "lenition," which came first, and worked backwards to create a verb from it. The noun itself comes from Latin "lenitio," a softening or easing, from "lenire," to soften, a root related to "lenis," meaning gentle or smooth. In linguistics, lenition describes changes such as a hard stop consonant becoming a fricative or approximant in certain positions, so that a sound grows softer and less forcefully articulated. Irish and Welsh grammar, for example, are often cited for consonant mutations of this kind, and "lenited" is the term used to describe a consonant that has been affected in that way.

Synonyms: softened, weakened

Antonyms: strengthened, fortified