spirant

Fricative.

A consonant uttered with perceptible blowing, or expulsion of breath; an alphabetic sound in the utterance of which the organs are brought near together but not wholly closed; a rustling, or fricative, or continuable consonant.

A term used differently by different authorities; — by some as equivalent to fricative, — that is, as including all the continuous consonants, except the nasals m, n, ng; with the further exception, by others, of the liquids r, l, and the semivowels w, y; by others limited to f, v, th surd and sonant, and the sound of German ch, — thus excluding the sibilants, as well as the nasals, liquids, and semivowels. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 197-208.

A fricative.

a continuant consonant produced by breath moving against a narrowing of the vocal tract

of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f’, `s’, `z’, or `th’ in both `thin’ and `then’)