sonorant


son·o·rant

S0563500 (sŏn′ər-ənt, sō′nər-, sə-nôr′-)n. A usually voiced speech sound characterized by relatively free air flow through the vocal tract and capable of being syllabic, as a vowel, liquid, or nasal.
[sonor(ous) + -ant.]

sonorant

(ˈsɒnərənt) n1. (Phonetics & Phonology) one of the frictionless continuants or nasals (l, r, m, n, ŋ) having consonantal or vocalic functions depending on its situation within the syllable2. (Phonetics & Phonology) either of the two consonants represented in English orthography by w or y and regarded as either consonantal or vocalic articulations of the vowels iː and uː[from Latin sonor a noise + -ant]

so•no•rant

(səˈnɔr ənt, -ˈnoʊr-, soʊ-)
n. a voiced speech sound, as a vowel, semivowel, liquid, or nasal, characterized by relatively free passage of air through a channel. [1930–35]