What does spirant mean?
Spirant is a technical term for a consonant produced when airflow through the vocal tract creates audible friction. Such sounds include /f/ and /s/ as well as their voiced counterparts, /v/ and /z/. In phonetic and phonological description, a spirant contrasts with a stop, which blocks airflow briefly before releasing it with a burst. The word is now specialized, but it remains useful because it emphasizes the physical process of friction rather than simply naming a category of sound. In Romance philology, spirant can also have the narrower historical meaning of a voiceless fricative. The term comes from Latin spirantem, “breathing,” a participle of spirare, “to breathe.” Its literal origin captures the audible rush of air that distinguishes these consonants from stops. For readers of dictionaries, phonetics, and historical linguistics, spirant is therefore both a precise sound description and a reminder that speech is shaped by airflow.
A consonant or consonant sound produced with friction rather than by completely blocking and then abruptly releasing the airflow.
"The analysis distinguishes a spirant from the corresponding stop."
Common in phonetic, phonological, and historical-linguistic description. The plural spirants refers collectively to several such sounds.
Relating to a consonant produced by forcing air through a constriction and creating audible friction.
"The /s/ at the end of “cats” is a spirant sound."
This use is chiefly technical and occurs in classifications of consonant sounds.
The regular plural is spirants, used for a class of such consonants or for several individual fricative sounds.
"The phoneme inventory contains several spirants."
A spirant turns speech into controlled turbulence: sounds such as /f/, /s/, and /ʃ/ are made by letting air scrape past a narrow gap.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does spirant come from?
Spirant entered English in the early 17th century from Latin spirantem, the present participle of spirare, meaning “to breathe.” Its phonetic sense reflects the audible friction produced as air passes through a constriction in the vocal tract. The same Latin root underlies cognates and derivatives including spirit, respiration, respiratory, and inspiration.
Related word forms
How spirant is actually used
The word is chiefly used in specialized phonetics, phonology, and historical linguistics. In modern phonetic description, “fricative” is often the preferred general term; in Romance philology, “spirant” may have the narrower historical meaning of a voiceless fricative.
Easily confused with spirant
A sibilant is a particularly high-pitched fricative, such as /s/ or /ʃ/, whereas a spirant is the broader category covering fricatives produced with audible friction.
A spirant is a sound or consonant involving friction, while an aspirant is a person seeking a position or advancement.