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Speech sound articulated by closing the vocal tract fully or partially
§ Brackets and transcription delimiters. In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure
Consonant
Phonetic phenomenon in Uralic languages
⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. Consonant gradation is a type of consonant mutation (mostly lenition but also assimilation) found
Consonant_gradation
System of phonetic notation
the IPA into three categories: pulmonic consonants, non-pulmonic consonants, and vowels. Pulmonic consonant letters are arranged singly or in pairs of
International Phonetic Alphabet
International_Phonetic_Alphabet
Consonant that is articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth
A dental consonant is a consonant articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth, such as /θ/, /ð/. In some languages, dentals are distinguished from
Dental_consonant
following tables present pulmonic and non-pulmonic consonants. In the IPA, a pulmonic consonant is a consonant made by obstructing the glottis (the space between
IPA consonant chart with audio
IPA_consonant_chart_with_audio
Group of consonants without a vowel in between
transcription delimiters. In linguistics, a consonant cluster, consonant sequence or consonant compound is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel.
Consonant_cluster
Consonant followed by a strong burst of air
Voiced consonants are seldom actually aspirated. Symbols for voiced consonants followed by ⟨◌ʰ⟩, such as ⟨bʰ⟩, typically represent consonants with murmured
Aspirated_consonant
Speech sounds in several African languages
instead of the intended characters. Click consonants, or clicks, are speech sounds that occur as consonants in many languages of Southern Africa and in
Click_consonant
Sound change happening in linguistics
⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. Consonant mutation is change in a consonant in a word according to its morphological or syntactic
Consonant_mutation
Linguistic concept
Vowel–consonant harmony, or consonant–vowel harmony, is a type of "long-distance" phonological assimilation, akin to the similar assimilatory process
Vowel–consonant_harmony
Articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time
gemini 'twins'), or consonant lengthening, is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct
Gemination
Unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds
notation: Consonant (C, or, for a consonant from a idiosyncratic set of possibilities, X) Obstruent (T) Nasal consonant (N) Liquid consonant (L) Glide
Syllable
Consonantal sound
IPA: Ejective consonants IPA help audio help full chart template This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
Ejective_consonant
Consonant which either forms a syllable by itself or is the nucleus of a syllable
A syllabic consonant, or vocalic consonant, is a consonant that forms the nucleus of a syllable on its own, like the m, n and l in some pronunciations
Syllabic_consonant
Type of consonant articulation
A retroflex (/ˈrɛtrəflɛks, -roʊ-/ ) consonant is a coronal consonant where the tongue has a flat, concave, or even curled shape, and is articulated between
Retroflex_consonant
Syllable-based writing system
segmental writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as units; each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is secondary
Abugida
Type of occlusive consonant
consonant, is an occlusive consonant produced with a lowered velum, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The vast majority of consonants are
Nasal_consonant
Consonants articulated with the tongue behind the alveolar ridge
§ Brackets and transcription delimiters. Postalveolar (post-alveolar) consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar
Postalveolar_consonant
Consonant articulated with both lips
delimiters. In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a labial consonant articulated with both lips. Bilabial consonants are very common across languages. Only
Bilabial_consonant
Phone (speech sound)
An apical consonant is a phone (speech sound) produced by obstructing the air passage with the tip of the tongue (apex) in conjunction with upper articulators
Apical_consonant
Class of speech sounds
and transcription delimiters. In linguistics, a liquid consonant or simply liquid is a consonant class that consists of rhotics and laterals, which are
Liquid_consonant
Abugida script for the Khmer language
under the main consonant. Originally there were 35 consonant characters, but modern Khmer uses only 33. Each character represents a consonant sound together
Khmer_script
Phone (speech sound)
A laminal consonant is a phone (speech sound) produced by obstructing the air passage with the blade of the tongue, the flat top front surface just behind
Laminal_consonant
Type of articulation
and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. Prenasalized consonants are phonetic sequences of a nasal and an obstruent (or occasionally a
Prenasalized_consonant
Consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases
a plosive, also known as an occlusive or simply a stop, is a pulmonic consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion
Plosive
Phonetic feature
palatization is a way of pronouncing a consonant in which part of the tongue is moved close to the hard palate. Consonants pronounced this way are said to be
Palatalization_(phonetics)
Obstruent that is voiceless, unaspirated and unglottalized
In linguistics, a tenuis consonant (/ˈtɛn.juːɪs/ or /ˈtɛnuːɪs/) is an obstruent that is voiceless, unaspirated and unglottalized. In other words, it has
Tenuis_consonant
Place of articulation
Glottal consonants are consonants using the glottis as their primary articulation. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the glottal fricative
Glottal_consonant
Phonological assimilation
Consonant harmony is a type of "long-distance" phonological assimilation of consonants, akin to the assimilatory process involving vowels in vowel harmony
Consonant_harmony
Series of obstruent consonants in Semitic languages
transcription delimiters. In Semitic linguistics, an emphatic consonant is an obstruent consonant which originally contrasted, and often still contrasts, with
Emphatic_consonant
Consonants articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge
Alveolar consonants (/ælˈviːələr/ ; UK also /ælviˈoʊlə/) are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, so called because
Alveolar_consonant
Place of articulation
Velar consonants are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth
Velar_consonant
Abugida script for languages spoken in Thailand
spoken in Thailand. The Thai script itself (as used to write Thai) has 44 consonant symbols (Thai: พยัญชนะ, phayanchana), 16 vowel symbols (Thai: สระ, sara)
Thai_script
Sound in spoken language, articulated with an open vocal tract
one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, loudness, and length. They are usually voiced
Vowel
Topics referred to by the same term
German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift Vowel shift This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Consonant shift
Consonant_shift
Consonants produced with tongue near or against the uvula
Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars
Uvular_consonant
Sounds and pronunciation of the Russian language
[ˈmʲæxʲkʲɪj]) or palatalized Russian also distinguishes hard consonants from soft consonants and from consonant+/j/ clusters, making four sets in total: /C Cʲ Cj
Russian_phonology
Native alphabet of the Korean language
arranged in syllable blocks consisting of an initial consonant, a vowel, and an optional final consonant. The syllables can be arranged in vertical or horizontal
Hangul
Topics referred to by the same term
Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Labiovelar consonant may refer to: Labial–velar consonant such as [k͡p] (a consonant made at two places of articulation, one
Labiovelar_consonant
Class of consonants
transcription delimiters. In phonetics, rhotic consonants, or "R-like" sounds, are liquid consonants that are traditionally represented orthographically
Rhotic_consonant
Phonological system of the Japanese language
distinct consonants (as many as 21 in some analyses) and 5 distinct vowels, /a, e, i, o, u/. Phonetic length is contrastive for both vowels and consonants, and
Japanese_phonology
Twenty-fifth letter of the Latin alphabet
mostly represents a vowel and seldom a consonant, and in other orthographies it may represent a vowel or a consonant. In Latin, Y was named I graeca ("Greek
Y
Type of consonant in phonetics
delimiters. A pulmonic consonant is a consonant produced by air pressure from the lungs, as opposed to ejective, implosive and click consonants. Most languages
Pulmonic_consonant
Consonant pronounced without the larynx vibrating
(IPA) has distinct letters for many voiceless and modally voiced pairs of consonants (the obstruents), such as [p b], [t d], [k ɡ], [q ɢ], [c ɟ], [f v], and
Voicelessness
Indo-Aryan language
reader. Many consonant clusters have different sounds than their constituent consonants. For example, the combination of the consonants ক্ [k] and ষ [ʂ]
Bengali_language
Consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative
IPA: Affricate consonants IPA help audio help full chart template This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet
Affricate
Speech sound formed by obstructing airflow
and therefore "resonate". All obstruents are consonants, but sonorants include vowels as well as consonants. Obstruents are subdivided into: plosives (oral
Obstruent
Consonant produced with tongue against the upper lip
Linguolabials, or more specifically apicolabials and laminolabials, are consonants articulated by placing the tongue tip or blade against the upper lip,
Linguolabial_consonant
Consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulators
⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. The two
Labial_consonant
Consonant formed with tongue between the teeth
Interdental consonants are produced by placing the tip of the tongue between the upper and lower front teeth. That differs from typical dental consonants, which
Interdental_consonant
Speech sound produced in large part by the glottis
In phonetics, a glottalic consonant is a consonant produced with some important contribution (movement or closure) of the glottis. Glottalic sounds may
Glottalic_consonant
Phonetic symbol chart
Sublaminal lower-alveolar percussive [¡] IPA vowel chart with audio IPA consonant chart with audio International Phonetic Alphabet chart for English dialects
International Phonetic Alphabet chart
International_Phonetic_Alphabet_chart
Phonology of the English language
complex set of phonological features that distinguish fortis and lenis consonants (stops, affricates, and fricatives). Phonological analysis of English
English_phonology
Modern writing system of 33 letters
language. The modern Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters: twenty consonants (⟨б⟩, ⟨в⟩, ⟨г⟩, ⟨д⟩, ⟨ж⟩, ⟨з⟩, ⟨к⟩, ⟨л⟩, ⟨м⟩, ⟨н⟩, ⟨п⟩, ⟨р⟩, ⟨с⟩, ⟨т⟩
Russian_alphabet
Abugida used to write Bengali
vowel diacritics, consonants and conjunct consonants, diacritical and other symbols, digits, and punctuation marks. Vowels and consonants are used as letters
Bengali_alphabet
Consonant letter that doesn't correspond to a consonant sound
orthography, a zero consonant, silent initial, or null-onset letter is a consonant letter that does not correspond to a consonant sound, but is required
Zero_consonant
Components of the Korean alphabet
The following tables of consonants and vowels (jamo, 자모; 字母) of the Korean alphabet (Hangul) display (in blue) the basic forms in the first row and their
Hangul consonant and vowel tables
Hangul_consonant_and_vowel_tables
Type of consonant
§ Brackets and transcription delimiters. In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the active articulator and passive
Trill_consonant
Term used in phonetics and phonology
used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds (usually consonants). Speech sounds can be described as either voiceless (otherwise known
Voice_(phonetics)
Consonant articulated with a flat tongue against the alveolar ridge and upper teeth
In linguistics, a denti-alveolar consonant, dento-alveolar consonant, or dentoalveolar consonant is a consonant that is articulated with a flat tongue
Denti-alveolar_consonant
Brahmic script used commonly to write the Malayalam language
syllable-based. The modern Malayalam alphabet has 15 vowel letters, 42 consonant letters, and a few other symbols. The Malayalam script is a Vatteluttu
Malayalam_script
Group of stop constants involving both ingressive and egressive mechanisms
IPA: Implosive consonants IPA help audio help full chart template This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet
Implosive_consonant
Non-coronal (lip and nasal) consonants
In Australian linguistics, the peripheral consonants are a natural class encompassing consonants articulated at the extremes of the mouth: labials (lip)
Peripheral_consonant
Consonant articulated through the pharynx
pharyngeal consonant is a consonant that is articulated primarily in the pharynx. Some phoneticians distinguish upper pharyngeal consonants, or "high"
Pharyngeal_consonant
Most widely spoken of all Sámi languages
resulting consonant is not necessarily the weak-grade equivalent of that consonant. If the consonant was previously affected by consonant lengthening
Northern_Sámi
Type of consonant sound involving tongue placement
the dental consonants at the upper teeth, the alveolar consonants at the upper gum (the alveolar ridge), the various postalveolar consonants (including
Coronal_consonant
Series of sound changes affecting some West Germanic languages
delimiters. In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development (sound change) that
High_German_consonant_shift
Consonant articulated with both the lower and upper teeth
Bidental consonants are consonants articulated with both the upper and lower teeth. They are normally found only in disordered speech, and are distinct
Bidental_consonant
Sound change converting an alveolar consonant to a rhotic consonant
sound change that converts one consonant (usually a voiced alveolar consonant: /z/, /d/, /l/, or /n/) to a rhotic consonant in a certain environment. The
Rhotacism
Consonant sound articulated in the same place of articulation as another
In phonetics, homorganic consonants (from Latin homo- 'same' and organ '[speech] organ') are consonant sounds that are articulated in the same place of
Homorganic_consonant
Nguni language of southern South Africa
Zimbabwe and Lesotho. It has perhaps the heaviest functional load of click consonants in a Bantu language (approximately tied with Yeyi), with one count finding
Xhosa_language
Consonant sound in speech
oral consonant is a consonant sound in speech that is made by allowing air to escape from the mouth, as opposed to the nose, as in a nasal consonant. To
Oral_consonant
standard accent. The sound system has not only segments—i.e. vowels and consonants—but also tones, and each syllable has one. In addition to the four main
Standard_Chinese_phonology
Consonants like /k, w, x, g/ articulated with the back of the tongue
⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. Dorsal consonants are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum). They include
Dorsal_consonant
Consonants articulated in the larynx
transcription delimiters. Laryngeal consonants (a term often used interchangeably with guttural consonants) are consonants with their primary articulation
Laryngeal_consonant
Characteristic of the Finnish language
Uralic languages; see consonant gradation for a more general overview. Consonant gradation involves an alternation in consonants between a strong grade
Finnish_consonant_gradation
Writing system where each symbol stands for a consonant
(/ˈæbdʒæd/ ; or abgad, lit. 'alphabet') is a writing system in which only consonants are represented by letter signs, leaving the vowels to be inferred by
Abjad
Repetition of consonant sounds in literature
syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often
Alliteration
phonetics, a vibrant is a class of consonant including taps and trills (a trill is "sometimes referred to as a vibrant consonant"). Spanish has two vibrants
Vibrant_consonant
Type of letter in Brahmic scripts
Conjunct consonants are a type of letters that is used, for example, in Brahmi or its derived modern scripts such as Balinese, Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati
Conjunct_consonant
Sound system of Spanish
voiced stops only after a pause, after a nasal consonant, or—in the case of /d/—after a lateral consonant; in all other contexts, they are realized as approximants
Spanish_phonology
in phonetics, is voicing before the onset of a consonant or beginning with the onset of the consonant but ending before its release. In the extensions
Pre-voicing
Letter of the Cyrillic script
pronouncing a consonant. It affects the pronunciation of the preceding consonant by giving it a palatal quality or causing it to become a palatal consonant. The
Soft_sign
Labioalveolar consonants are articulated with the lower lip against the alveolar ridge. They are only found in disordered speech, typically occurring in
Labioalveolar_consonant
Italo-Romance language spoken in Italy
the consonant doubled. More will be said about this in the section on consonant doubling. Doubling only occurs when a vowel follows the consonant. No
Neapolitan_language
Doubly articulated consonant
Labial–retroflex consonants are doubly articulated consonants that are co-articulated at the lips and with the front part or underside of the tongue against
Labial–retroflex_consonant
Basic unit of phonology
equivalent in sign languages), and all spoken languages include both consonant and vowel phonemes. Phonemes are studied under phonology, a branch of
Phoneme
Phonetic process
simultaneously with another consonant. In certain cases, the glottal stop can even wholly replace the voiceless consonant. The term 'glottalized' is also
Glottalization
American alternative rock band
Consonant is an alternative rock group formed by American musician Clint Conley in 2001. In the late 1970s, Conley cofounded Mission of Burma, a pioneering
Consonant_(band)
West Germanic language
the use of modal verbs, and sound changes affecting Proto-Indo-European consonants known as Grimm's and Verner's laws. Old English was one of several Ingvaeonic
English_language
System of shorthand for English, developed by Isaac Pitman
consonant sounds. The predominant way of indicating vowels is to use light or heavy dots, dashes, or other special marks drawn close to the consonant
Pitman_shorthand
Phonetic sound change
phonology, voicing (or sonorization) is a sound change where a voiceless consonant becomes voiced due to the influence of its phonological environment; shift
Consonant voicing and devoicing
Consonant_voicing_and_devoicing
of consonant clusters. The H-cluster reductions are various consonant reductions that have occurred in the history of English, involving consonant clusters
Phonological history of English consonant clusters
Phonological_history_of_English_consonant_clusters
Latin-script alphabet consisting of 26 letters
letters (A, E, I, O, U) and 19 consonant letters—as well as 2 letters (W and Y) which may function as either type. 4 consonants (L, M, N, and R, depending
English_alphabet
Alphabet of the Arabic language
abjad, with only consonants required to be written (though the long vowels – ā ī ū – are also written, with letters used for consonants); due to its optional
Arabic_alphabet
Indo-Aryan language of Sri Lanka
language of these inscriptions, still retaining long vowels and aspirated consonants, is a Prakrit similar to Magadhi, a regional associate of the Middle-Indian
Sinhala_language
with 28 main letters, which are called jamo. Other extended vowels and consonants also existed or were later introduced but faded from use. Now, 24 main
Obsolete_Hangul_jamo
Official language of the country of Georgia
Christianization of Georgia in the 4th century. Georgian phonology features a rich consonant system, including aspirated, voiced, and ejective stops, affricates, and
Georgian_language
Type of fricative consonant sound
Sibilants (from Latin: sibilans 'hissing') are fricative and affricate consonants of higher amplitude and pitch, produced with a high velocity jet of air
Sibilant
Topics referred to by the same term
digraph - a type of digraph Gemination#Double letters that are not long consonants This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Double
Double_letter
CONSONANT
CONSONANT
Surname or Lastname
English
English : habitational name from a place in Leicestershire, so called from Old English Scēaftingtūn ‘settlement (Old English tūn) associated with Scēaft’, a byname meaning ‘shaft’, ‘spear’. The initial consonant was modified from ‘sh’ to ‘sk’ under Scandinavian influence.
Surname or Lastname
English (mainly South Wales and southwestern England)
English (mainly South Wales and southwestern England) : from the medieval personal name Harry, which was the usual vernacular form of Henry, with assimilation of the consonantal cluster and regular Middle English change of -er- to -ar-.French : from the Germanic personal name Hariric, composed of the elements hari, heri ‘army’ + rīc ‘power(ful)’.
CONSONANT
CONSONANT
Girl/Female
Biblical
An answer, their affliction.
Surname or Lastname
English
English : patronymic from Spink.
Boy/Male
English American Hebrew
Jordan 'down flowing.
Male
Greek
(Φόβος) Greek name PHOBOS means "fear." In mythology, this is the name of a son of Ares. It is also the name of a moon of Mars.
Girl/Female
British, English
Controller
Surname or Lastname
English and Scottish
English and Scottish : metonymic occupational name for a maker of hoods or a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive hood, from Middle English hod(de), hood, hud ‘hood’. Some early examples with prepositions seem to be topographic names, referring to a place where there was a hood-shaped hill or a natural shelter or overhang, providing protection from the elements. In some cases the name may be habitational, from places called Hood, in Devon (possibly ‘hood-shaped hill’) and North Yorkshire (possibly ‘shelter’ or ‘fortification’).Irish : Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hUid ‘descendant of Ud’, a personal name of uncertain derivation. This was the name of an Ulster family who were bards to the O’Neills of Clandeboy. It was later altered to Mac hUid. Compare Mahood.
Girl/Female
Tamil
Beautiful, Angel
Female
Hebrew
(×ַיֶּלֶת) Hebrew name derived from a name for the morning star, AYELET means "deer; gazelle."
Girl/Female
Indian, Punjabi, Sikh
Army of God in Heaven
Girl/Female
Tamil
Heavy, The dullard
CONSONANT
CONSONANT
CONSONANT
CONSONANT
CONSONANT
a.
Not sounded with voice; as, a voiceless consonant; surd.
a.
Of or pertaining to consonants; made up of, or containing many, consonants.
a.
Consonant to justice; just; as, a rightful cause.
n.
Sound of the kind or quality heard in speech or song in the consonants b, v, d, etc., and in the vowels; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; -- distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in f, s, sh, etc., and also whisper.
adv.
In a consonant, consistent, or congruous manner; agreeably.
a.
Not to be accounted for; inexplicable; not consonant with reason or rule; strange; mysterious.
a.
Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either by resonance, as in the case of the vowels, or by obstructive action, as in certain consonants, such as v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng; sonant; intonated; voiced. See Voice, and Vowel, also Guide to Pronunciation, // 199-202.
n.
The accentual mark placed over n, and sometimes over l, in Spanish words [thus, , /], indicating that, in pronunciation, the sound of the following vowel is to be preceded by that of the initial, or consonantal, y.
n.
The quality or condition of being consonant, agreeable, or consistent.
n.
A sound, of consonantal character, made with a rapid succession of partial or entire intermissions, by the vibration of some one part of the organs in the mouth -- tongue, uvula, epiglottis, or lip -- against another part; as, the r is a trill in most languages.
v. t.
To change into, or use as, a consonant.
a.
harmonizing together; accordant; as, consonant tones, consonant chords.
n.
A Burman measure of twelve miles. V () V, the twenty-second letter of the English alphabet, is a vocal consonant. V and U are only varieties of the same character, U being the cursive form, while V is better adapted for engraving, as in stone. The two letters were formerly used indiscriminately, and till a comparatively recent date words containing them were often classed together in dictionaries and other books of reference (see U). The letter V is from the Latin alphabet, where it was used both as a consonant (about like English w) and as a vowel. The Latin derives it from it from a form (V) of the Greek vowel / (see Y), this Greek letter being either from the same Semitic letter as the digamma F (see F), or else added by the Greeks to the alphabet which they took from the Semitic. Etymologically v is most nearly related to u, w, f, b, p; as in vine, wine; avoirdupois, habit, have; safe, save; trover, troubadour, trope. See U, F, etc.
n.
A vocal, or sometimes a whispered, sound modified by resonance in the oral passage, the peculiar resonance in each case giving to each several vowel its distinctive character or quality as a sound of speech; -- distinguished from a consonant in that the latter, whether made with or without vocality, derives its character in every case from some kind of obstructive action by the mouth organs. Also, a letter or character which represents such a sound. See Guide to Pronunciation, // 5, 146-149.
a.
Of the same form with others; agreeing with each other; conforming to one rule or mode; consonant.
a.
Having the place of articulation on the soft palate; guttural; as, the velar consonants, such as k and hard q.
n.
A genus of large edentulous sirenians, allied to the dugong and manatee, including but one species (R. Stelleri); -- called also Steller's sea cow. S () the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a consonant, and is often called a sibilant, in allusion to its hissing sound. It has two principal sounds; one a mere hissing, as in sack, this; the other a vocal hissing (the same as that of z), as in is, wise. Besides these it sometimes has the sounds of sh and zh, as in sure, measure. It generally has its hissing sound at the beginning of words, but in the middle and at the end of words its sound is determined by usage. In a few words it is silent, as in isle, debris. With the letter h it forms the digraph sh. See Guide to pronunciation, // 255-261.
n.
Same as Tsetse. U () the twenty-first letter of the English alphabet, is a cursive form of the letter V, with which it was formerly used interchangeably, both letters being then used both as vowels and consonants. U and V are now, however, differentiated, U being used only as a vowel or semivowel, and V only as a consonant. The true primary vowel sound of U, in Anglo-Saxon, was the sound which it still retains in most of the languages of Europe, that of long oo, as in tool, and short oo, as in wood, answering to the French ou in tour. Etymologically U is most closely related to o, y (vowel), w, and v; as in two, duet, dyad, twice; top, tuft; sop, sup; auspice, aviary. See V, also O and Y.
a.
Of the nature of a consonant; pertaining to consonants.