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consonant

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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WOTD – 30 April 2012

Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Proto-Italic *kom-
Latin con-
Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂-
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti
Proto-Indo-European *swonh₂éyeti
Proto-Italic *swonaō
Latin sonō
Latin cōnsonō
Latin cōnsonāns
Old French consonantbor.
Middle English consonant
English consonant

    From Middle English consonant or consonaunt, from Old French consonant, from Latin cōnsonāns (“sounding with”), from the prefix con- (“with”) + the present participle sonāns (“sounding”), from sonāre (“to sound”). The Latin is a calque of Ancient Greek σύμφωνον (súmphōnon).

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    Examples (letter)

    The consonant letters in the English alphabet are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Z, and sometimes Y.

    consonant (plural consonants)

    2. (phonetics) A sound that results from the passage of air through restrictions of the oral cavity; any sound that is not the nucleus of a syllable, the nucleus generally being a vowel.
      Hyponym: obstruent
    4. A letter representing the sound of a consonant.
      • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
        Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.
      • 1908 February 19, Jack London, chapter 4, in The Iron Heel, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC:
        “Tell me, has right anything to do with the law?” I asked. “You have used the wrong initial consonant,” he smiled in answer. “Might?” I queried; and he nodded his head.

    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    • → Pohnpeian: konsonan
    • → Swahili: konsonanti

    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Adjective

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    consonant (comparative more consonant, superlative most consonant)

    1. Consistent, harmonious, compatible, or in agreement.
      • 1710, William Beveridge, The true nature of the Christian church, the office of its ministers, and the means of grace administred by them explain'd. In twelve sermons:
        Each one pretends that his opinion […] is consonant to the words there used.
      • 1900, Sabine Baring-Gould, “The Rev. Mr. Carter, Parson-Publican”, in Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events:
        Cheerfulness, even gaiety, is consonant with every species of virtue and practice of religion, and I think it inconsistent only with impiety and vice.
      • 1946, United States Supreme Court, Pennekamp v. Florida 328 U.S. 331,334
        This essential right of the courts to be free of intimidation and coercion was held to be consonant with a recognition that freedom of the press must be allowed in the broadest scope compatible with the supremacy of order.
    2. Having the same sound.
      • 1645-1650, James Howell, Epistolae Ho-Elianae
        consonant words and syllables
    4. (music) Harmonizing together; accordant.
      consonant tones; consonant chords
    5. Of or relating to consonants; made up of, or containing many, consonants.
      • 1813, Thomas Moore, Intercepted Letters, or the Two-Penny Post-Bag:
        No Russian whose dissonant consonant name / Almost shatters to fragments the trumpet of fame.

    Quotations

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    Antonyms

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    Translations

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    See also

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    Aragonese

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from Latin cōnsonantem.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /konsoˈnan/
    • Rhymes: -an
    • Syllabification: con‧so‧nant

    Adjective

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    consonant (plural consonants)

    1. consonant

    Noun

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    consonant f (plural consonants)

    1. consonant

    Derived terms

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    Catalan

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    Etymology

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      Learned borrowing from Latin cōnsonantem. First attested in the 14th century.[1]

      Pronunciation

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      Adjective

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      consonant m or f (masculine and feminine plural consonants)

      1. consonant

      Noun

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      consonant f (plural consonants)

      1. consonant

      Derived terms

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      References

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      1. ^ “consonant”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

      Further reading

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      French

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      Pronunciation

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      Adjective

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      consonant (feminine consonante, masculine plural consonants, feminine plural consonantes)

      1. consonant

      Further reading

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      Latin

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      Pronunciation

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      Verb

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      cōnsonant

      1. third-person plural present active indicative of cōnsonō

      Romanian

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      Etymology

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      Etymology tree
      Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?
      Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
      Proto-Italic *kom
      Proto-Italic *kom-
      Latin con-
      Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂-
      Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
      Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti
      Proto-Indo-European *swonh₂éyeti
      Proto-Italic *swonaō
      Latin sonō
      Latin cōnsonō
      Latin consonanslbor.
      French consonantbor.
      Romanian consonant

        Learned borrowing from Latin consonans, or borrowed from French consonant.

        Pronunciation

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        Adjective

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        consonant m or n (feminine singular consonantă, masculine plural consonanți, feminine/neuter plural consonante)

        1. consonant

        Declension

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        Declension of consonant
        singular plural
        masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
        nominative-
        accusative         		indefinite consonant consonantă consonanți consonante
        definite consonantul consonanta consonanții consonantele
        genitive-
        dative         		indefinite consonant consonante consonanți consonante
        definite consonantului consonantei consonanților consonantelor

        Further reading

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        Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=consonant&oldid=93138252"