Tenuis

Quick meaning: Tenuis is an adjective meaning (linguistics) Of Greek consonants, neither aspirated nor voiced, as [p], [t], [k].

Meaning

(linguistics) Of Greek consonants, neither aspirated nor voiced, as [p], [t], [k].

More Meanings

1. (linguistics) A tenuis consonant.
2. (linguistics) Of obstruents in other languages, not voiced, aspirated, glottalized, or otherwise different in phonation from the prototypical values of the voiceless IPA letters ([p], [t], [k], [f], [θ], [s], [ʃ], etc.).

Example Sentences

The tenuis becomes aspirate in Low-German.

The superscript equal sign ˭ is here used to denote the Czech tenuis consonant, in this case the plosive [t˭], which lacks aspiration, in order to contrast it with its aspirated counterpart in English [tʰ].

Since the explosive was a tenuis before a consonant we have -p m- and -t n-; these combinations were mutated to mh and nh in the following examples, the voicelessness of the tenuis being retained after its assimilation

Word Forms

• tenues

Antonyms for tenuis

Common opposites include media, aspirate.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include atonic, nonaspirated, barytone, atonal, untrilled, unlenited.

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