sibilant

English

WOTD – 10 January 2009

Etymology

From Latin sībilāns, present active participle of sībilō (I hiss).

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈsɪb.ɪ.lənt/
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Adjective

sibilant (comparative more sibilant, superlative most sibilant)

  1. Characterized by a hissing or hushing sound such as the s or sh in sack or shack.
    • 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa., New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
      She had a curious habit of prefacing everything she said with a soft sibilant sound.
      "S-s-s Grace," she said, "it's just like I was telling Brother Hutson the other day. 'S-s-s Brother Hutson,' I said, 'looks like we're fighting a losing battle, a losing battle.' I said."

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

sibilant (plural sibilants)

  1. (phonetics) A consonant having a hissing or hushing sound such as the s or sh in sack or shack.
    Synonym: groove fricative
    Hypernym: fricative
    • 1955, H. A. Gleason, An Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics, page 194, section 14.7:
      Groove fricatives all have more or less of an [s]-like quality, and are for this reason sometimes called sibilants.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Danish

Noun

sibilant

  1. (phonetics) sibilant

Declension

Synonyms

Dutch

Pronunciation

Hyphenation: si‧bi‧lant

Noun

sibilant c (plural sibilanten, diminutive sibilantje n)

  1. sibilant

Synonyms

French

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /si.bi.lɑ̃/

Adjective

sibilant (feminine sibilante, masculine plural sibilants, feminine plural sibilantes)

  1. sibilant; hissing

Further reading

Latin

Verb

sībilant

  1. third-person plural present active indicative of sībilō

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French sibilant.

Adjective

sibilant m or n (feminine singular sibilantă, masculine plural sibilanți, feminine and neuter plural sibilante)

  1. sibilant

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sibǐlant/
  • Hyphenation: si‧bi‧lant

Noun

sibìlant m (Cyrillic spelling сибѝлант)

  1. (phonetics) sibilant
    Synonym: pȉskavac

Declension

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