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Glite Dictionary
fricative consonant

fricative consonant

7.5
A speech sound you make by forcing breath through a narrow gap, like s or f
  • noun
  • /ˈfrɪkətɪv ˈkɒnsənənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : consonante fricativa
  • The sound /f/ in 'fish' is a classic example of a fricative consonant.

Examples

  • Linguists study how airflow and tongue position result in different fricative consonant sounds.

  • English contains several fricative consonants, such as /s/, /z/, and /ʃ/.

  • A fricative consonant is produced with friction in the vocal tract.

  • Can you identify the fricative consonants in this sentence?

  • In linguistics, the sound f is classified as a fricative consonant because it is produced by forcing air through a narrow gap between the upper teeth and lower lip.

  • The English language includes several fricative consonants, such as s and z, which create audible friction during pronunciation.

  • When learning to articulate correctly, recognizing that v is a fricative consonant can help with distinguishing it from plosive sounds like b.

Synonyms

fricative
vsfricative consonant
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A consonant sound made when air passes through a small gap, like f or s

is the same consonant sound but stated as an explicit consonant type
spirant
vsfricative consonant
  • Specialized
9.9

A consonant sound made by pushing air through a small opening in the mouth, like f or s

is the same sound but described in more general terminology

How Noisy

sibilant
  • Specialized
8.3
fricative consonant
  • Specialized
7.5
affricate
  • Specialized
9.9
stop consonant
  • Specialized
6.3

Surface Forms

fricative consonant singular
fricative consonants plural

Morphology

fricative + consonant

The meaning is directly compositional: a 'fricative consonant' is simply a consonant that is produced with frication, which follows from combining 'fricative' (made by forcing air through a narrow passage) and 'consonant' (a sound formed by obstructing airflow). Although technical, there is no idiomatic shift or metaphor, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Fricative consonant comes from the image of air rubbing through a small gap. To make a fricative, you push air through a very small gap so it 'hisses' or 'rubs', and a consonant is a sound made by blocking the breath a little. So, the name tells you it means a sound made by air rubbing through a narrow space.