Sibilant

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sibilant \Sib"i*lant\, a. [L. sibilans, -antis, p. pr. of
     sibilare to hiss: cf. F. sibilant.]
     Making a hissing sound; uttered with a hissing sound;
     hissing; as, s, z, sh, and zh, are sibilant elementary
     sounds. -- n. A sibiliant letter.
     [1913 Webster]



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  sibilant
       adj : of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a
             constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both
             `thin' and `then') [syn: {fricative}, {spirant}]
       n : a consonant characterized by a hissing sound (like s or sh)
           [syn: {sibilant consonant}]