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/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

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

Declension of sibilant
common
gender
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative sibilant sibilanten sibilanter sibilanterne
genitive sibilants sibilantens sibilanters sibilanternes

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

Declension of sibilant
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative
indefinite sibilant sibilantă sibilanți sibilante
definite sibilantul sibilanta sibilanții sibilantele
genitive-
dative
indefinite sibilant sibilante sibilanți sibilante
definite sibilantului sibilantei sibilanților sibilantelor

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

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

Noun

sibìlant m inan (Cyrillic spelling сибѝлант)

  1. (phonetics) sibilant
    Synonym: pȉskavac

Declension

Declension of sibilant
singular plural
nominative sibìlant sibilanti
genitive sibilanta sibìlanātā
dative sibilantu sibilantima
accusative sibilant sibilante
vocative sibilante sibilanti
locative sibilantu sibilantima
instrumental sibilantom sibilantima