[syn: fricative, continuant, sibilant, spirant, strident]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sibilant \Sib"i*lant\, a. [L. sibilans, -antis, p. pr. of
sibilare to hiss: cf. F. sibilant.]
Making a hissing sound; uttered with a hissing sound;
hissing; as, s, z, sh, and zh, are sibilant elementary
sounds. -- n. A sibiliant letter.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
sibilant
adj 1: of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a
constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both
`thin' and `then') [syn: fricative, continuant,
sibilant, spirant, strident]
n 1: a consonant characterized by a hissing sound (like s or sh)
[syn: sibilant, sibilant consonant]