consonant

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: con=so=nant

CIDE DICTIONARY

consonant, a. [L. consonans, -antis; p. pr. of consonare to sound at the same time, agree; con- + sonare to sound: cf. F. consonnant. See Sound to make a noise.].

•  Having agreement; congruous; consistent; according; -- usually followed by with or to.  [1913 Webster]

  "Each one pretends that his opinion . . . is consonant to the words there used."  [1913 Webster]

  "That where much is given there shall be much required is a thing consonant with natural equity."  [1913 Webster]
•  Having like sounds.  [1913 Webster]

  "Consonant words and syllables."  [1913 Webster]
•  harmonizing together; accordant; as, consonant tones, consonant chords.  [1913 Webster]
•  Of or pertaining to consonants; made up of, or containing many, consonants.  [1913 Webster]

  "No Russian whose dissonant consonant name
  Almost shatters to fragments the trumpet of fame."  [1913 Webster]

consonant, n. [L. consonans, -antis.].

 An articulate sound which in utterance is usually combined and sounded with an open sound called a vowel; a member of the spoken alphabet other than a vowel; also, a letter or character representing such a sound.  [1913 Webster]
"Consonants are divided into various classes, as mutes, spirants, sibilants, nasals, semivowels, etc. All of them are sounds uttered through a closer position of the organs than that of a vowel proper, although the most open of them, as the semivowels and nasals, are capable of being used as if vowels, and forming syllables with other closer consonants, as in the English feeble (-b'l), taken (-k'n). All the consonants excepting the mutes may be indefinitely, prolonged in utterance without the help of a vowel, and even the mutes may be produced with an aspirate instead of a vocal explosion. Vowels and consonants may be regarded as the two poles in the scale of sounds produced by gradual approximation of the organ, of speech from the most open to the closest positions, the vowel being more open, the consonant closer; but there is a territory between them where the sounds produced partake of the qualities of both."  [1913 Webster]
" “A consonant is the result of audible friction, squeezing, or stopping of the breath in some part of the mouth (or occasionally of the throath.) The main distinction between vowels and consonants is, that while in the former the mouth configuration merely modifies the vocalized breath, which is therefore an essential element of the vowels, in consonants the narrowing or stopping of the oral passage is the foundation of the sound, and the state of the glottis is something secondary.”"  H. Sweet.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

consonant, n. & adj.
--n.
1 a speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed, and which to form a syllable must be combined with a vowel.
2 a letter or letters representing this.
--adj. (foll. by with, to)
1 consistent; in agreement or harmony.
2 similar in sound.
3 Mus. making a concord.

Derivative

consonantal adj. consonantly adv.

Etymology

ME f. F f. L consonare (as com-, sonare sound f. sonus)

THESAURUS

consonant

accented, accordant, according, affirmative, agreeable, agreeing, alike, allophone, alveolar, answerable, apical, apico-alveolar, apico-dental, articulated, articulation, aspiration, assimilated, assimilation, assonant, assonantal, at one, attuned, automatic, back, balanced, barytone, bilabial, blended, blending, broad, cacuminal, central, cerebral, check, checked, chiming, close, coexistent, coexisting, coherent, coincident, coinciding, commensurate, compatible, concordant, concurrent, concurring, conformable, congenial, congruent, congruous, consentaneous, consentient, consistent, consonantal, constant, continuant, continuous, cooperating, cooperative, correspondent, corresponding, dental, diphthong, dissimilated, dissimilation, dorsal, en rapport, epenthetic vowel, equable, equal, equivalent, even, explosive, flat, front, glide, glossal, glottal, glottalization, guttural, hard, harmonic, harmonious, harmonizing, heavy, high, homogeneous, homophonic, immutable, in accord, in agreement, in chorus, in concert, in concord, in rapport, in sync, in synchronization, in tune, in unison, inaccordance, inharmony, intonated, invariable, labial, labialization, labiodental, labiovelar, laryngeal, lateral, lax, level, light, like-minded, lingual, liquid, low, manner of articulation, measured, mechanical, methodic, mid, modification, monodic, monolithic, monophonic, monophthong, monophthongal, morphophoneme, mute, muted, narrow, nasal, nasalized, occlusive, of a piece, of like mind, of one mind, on all fours, open, ordered, orderly, oxytone, palatal, palatalized, parasitic vowel, peak, persistent, pharyngeal, pharyngealization, pharyngealized, phone, phoneme, phonemic, phonetic, phonic, pitch, pitched, plosive, positive, posttonic, proportionate, prothetic vowel, reconcilable, regular, retroflex, robotlike, rounded, segmental phoneme, self-consistent, semivowel, smooth, soft, sonant, sonority, speech sound, stable, steadfast, steady, stop, stopped, stressed, strong, surd, syllabic, syllabic nucleus, syllabic peak, syllable, symbiotic, sympathetic, symphonious, synchronized, synchronous, systematic, tense, thick, throaty, tonal, tonic, transition sound, triphthong, tuned, twangy, unaccented, unanimous, unbroken, unchangeable, unchanged, unchanging, undeviating, undifferentiated, undiversified, uniform, unisonant, unisonous, unrounded, unruffled, unstressed, unvaried, unvarying, velar, vibrant, vocable, vocalic, vocoid, voice, voiced, voiced sound, voiceless, voiceless sound, voicing, vowel, vowellike, weak, wide

ROGET THESAURUS

consonant

Letter

N letter, character, hieroglyphic, type, capitals, digraph, trigraph, ideogram, ideograph, majuscule, minuscule, majuscule, minuscule, alphabet, ABC, abecedary, christcross-row, consonant, vowel, diphthong, triphthong, mute, liquid, labial, dental, guttural, syllable, monosyllable, dissyllable, polysyllable, affix, suffix, spelling, orthograph, phonography, phonetic spelling, anagrammatism, metagrammatism, cipher, monogram, anagram, doubleacrostic, literal, alphabetical, abecedarian, syllabic, majuscular, minuscular, uncial.

Agreement

N agreement, accord, accordance, unison, harmony, concord, concordance, concert, understanding, mutual understanding, conformity, conformance, uniformity, consonance, consentaneousness, consistency, congruity, congruence, keeping, congeniality, correspondence, parallelism, apposition, union, fitness, aptness, relevancy, pertinence, pertinencey, sortance, case in point, aptitude, coaptation, propriety, applicability, admissibility, commensurability, compatibility, cognation, adaption, adjustment, graduation, accommodation, reconciliation, reconcilement, assimilation, consent, concurrence, cooperation, right man in the right place, very thing, quite the thing, just the thing, agreeing, suiting, in accord, accordant, concordant, consonant, congruous, consentaneous, correspondent, congenial, coherent, becoming, harmonious reconcilable, conformable, in accordance with, in harmony with, in keeping with, in unison with at one with, of one mind, of a piece, consistent, compatible, proportionate, commensurate, on all fours, apt, apposite, pertinent, pat, to the point, to the purpose, happy, felicitous, germane, ad rem, in point, on point, directly on point, bearing upon, applicable, relevant, admissible, fit adapted, in loco, a propos, appropriate, seasonable, sortable, suitable, idoneous, deft, meet, at home, in one's proper element, a propos of, pertinently, rem acu tetigisti, if the shoe fits, wear it, the cap fits, auxilia humilia firma consensus facit, discers concordia.

Concord

N concord, accord, harmony, symphony, homologue, agreement, sympathy, empathy, response, union, unison, unity, bonds of harmony, peace, unanimity, league, happy family, rapprochement, reunion, amity, alliance, entente cordiale, good understanding, conciliation, peacemaker, intercessor, mediator, concordant, congenial, agreeing, in accord, harmonious, united, cemented, banded together, allied, friendly, fraternal, conciliatory, at one with, of one mind, at peace, in still water, tranquil, with one voice, in concert with, hand in hand, on one's side, commune periculum concordiam parit, melody concord, melody, rhythm, measure, rhyme, pitch, timbre, intonation, tone, scale, gamut, diapason, diatonic chromatic scale, enharmonic scale, key, clef, chords, modulation, temperament, syncope, syncopation, preparation, suspension, resolution, staff, stave, line, space, brace, bar, rest, appoggiato, appoggiatura, acciaccatura, note, musical note, notes of a scale, sharp, flat, natural, high note, low note, interval, semitone, second, third, fourth, diatessaron, breve, semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, demisemiquaver, hemidemisemiquaver, sustained note, drone, burden, tonic, key note, leading note, fundamental note, supertonic, mediant, dominant, submediant, subdominant, octave, tetrachord, major key, minor key, major scale, minor scale, major mode, minor mode, passage, phrase, concord, harmony, emmeleia, unison, unisonance, chime, homophony, euphony, euphonism, tonality, consonance, consent, part, harmony, harmonics, thorough-bass, fundamental-bass, counterpoint, faburden, piece of music, composer, harmonist, contrapuntist (musician), harmonious, harmonical, in concord, in tune, in concert, unisonant, concentual, symphonizing, isotonic, homophonous, assonant, ariose, consonant, measured, rhythmical, diatonic, chromatic, enharmonic, melodious, musical, melic, tuneful, tunable, sweet, dulcet, canorous, mellow, mellifluous, soft, clear, clear as a bell, silvery, euphonious, euphonic, euphonical, symphonious, enchanting fine-toned, full-toned, silver-toned, harmoniously, in harmony, as one, the hidden soul of harmony.