obstruent

1 9.9

A speech sound that stops the air in the mouth, like p, b, f, s

noun
/ˈɑbstrəwənt/

Specialized

: obstruente

In linguistics, an obstruent is often described as a sound that restricts airflow, such as the consonants k and t.
voiceless obstruents

Examples

The sound /f/ is an example of a voiceless obstruent that is produced by forcing air through a narrow opening between the bottom lip and the top teeth.
Examples of obstruents include sounds like /b/, /d/, and /g/, which are produced with varying degrees of airflow obstruction.
We selected these three instances because they contain a voiceless obstruent surrounded on each side by vowels that are produced by most speakers with a relatively long duration.

Academic text (2012)

Surface Forms

obstruent singular

obstruents plural

Morphology

obstruent = obstruct (transparent) = obstru + ent

The term denotes 'one that obstructs' or 'causes obstruction' and can be inferred by learners who know the verb 'obstruct' plus the adjectival/nominal suffix '-ent'.

Etymology

Obstruent comes from the Latin root obstru- meaning 'to block', and you can see the same idea in the English words obstruct and obstacle. An obstruent is a consonant that 'blocks' or strongly slows the flow of air in the mouth, like the sounds 'p', 'f', and 's', so the origin explains the name.