Sonant

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A speech sound that can carry or project sound energy, particularly a vowel or voiced consonant that vibrates the vocal cords
2. Any phonetic sound produced with vocal cord vibration that forms the core of a syllable or resonates audibly
3. A phone capable of making acoustic vibrations, especially one pronounced with the vocal folds engaged and forming a syllabic nucleus

Etymology: Latin "sonāns" is the present participle of "sonāre," "to sound," and it is the root of the English adjective "sonant." Its core sense is simply "sounding" or "making a noise," and that bare meaning is what the word still carries. The English term is borrowed directly from Latin "sonāns," with the genitive ending "sonantis" showing the stem the Latin grammar used. Its build is transparent: "son-," from "sonus" (sound), plus the "-ant" ending that marks a participle or an adjective of the sort "sounding" or "resonant." Like many sound-related words, it kept its close tie to the idea of noise.

Synonyms: voiced, resonant

Antonyms: voiceless, surd