consonant
pronunciation
How to pronounce consonant in British English:
UK [ ˈkɒnsənənt]
How to pronounce consonant in American English:
US [ ˈkɑːnsənənt]
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- Noun:
- a speech sound that is not a vowel
- a letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken consonant
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- Adjective:
- involving or characterized by harmony
- in keeping
Word Origin
- consonant
- consonant: [14] Etymologically, consonant means ‘sounding together’. It comes via Old French consonant from Latin consonāns, the present participle of consonāre, a compound verb formed from the prefix com- ‘together’ and sonāre ‘sound’. Its application to particular speech sounds, contrasted with ‘vowels’, comes from the notion that they were ‘pronounced together with’ vowels, rather than independently.=> sonorous, sound
- consonant (n.)
- early 14c., "sound other than a vowel," from Latin consonantem (nominative consonans), present participle of consonare "to sound together, sound aloud," from com- "with" (see com-) + sonare "to sound" (see sonata). Consonants were thought of as sounds that are only produced together with vowels.
- consonant (adj.)
- early 15c., from Old French consonant (13c.), from Latin consonantem (nominative consonans), present participle of consonare (see consonant (n.)).
Synonym
conformable compliant in accordant consentient congruent coherent concurrent accord consentaneous unison consistent unanimous rapport concurring parallel cohesive agreeable congruous correspondent agreement corresponding concordant
harmonious melodic melodious monodic tuneful chiming harmony in euphonious pleasant-sounding tune symphonious
Antonym
Example
- 1. In the sentence there is another example of a consonant being linked to a vowel .
- 2. The baby is now cooing and gurgling , and making a few basic consonant sounds .
- 3. Almost every language has an o vowel , a k consonant , and an a vowel .
- 4. The tactic is a bit complicated for a brief article , but the basic idea is to attach each digit to a specific consonant .