consonans

Forms

cōnsonāns (genitive cōnsonantis); third-declension one-termination adjective; as a noun f^[2]

Etymology

It is the present participle from Latin cōnsonō (“to sound together; to agree”),^[2][1][3] a verb formed from con- and sonō (“to sound”).^[2] The grammatical noun is short for ⟨littera cōnsonāns⟩, “sounding-with letter”,^[2][1][4] a semantic loan from Ancient Greek σύμφωνον (súmphōnon);^[1] Wiktionary notes that the Latin form does not match the Greek one exactly, and that ⟨cōnsona⟩ would correspond more closely.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Vitruvius (about 84–25 BC) uses it of places that sound in accord, where the voice reaches the ears clearly.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Livy used it of voices raised together in agreement; from this it came to mean “agreeing, fitting”.^[2] Later Latin built constructions on it with an infinitive or ut, “it is consistent (to do)”, in Ulpian, Caelius Aurelianus and Hilary.^[4]

As a feminine noun it became the grammarians' word for a consonant, opposed to vocalis;^[2][4] Quintilian already speaks of telling consonants from vowels.^[2][4] Diomedes explained the name: consonants are so called because, set before or after vowels, they sound together with them.^[4] English took it over in the early 14th century as consonant.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of places that sound in accord.^[2][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy has it of a shout raised in agreement.^[2][5]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses the feminine noun for a consonant.^[2][5]
• 2nd half of the 4th century AD – Diomedes explains why consonants have that name.^[4][5]
• early 14th century – Borrowed into English as consonant.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Sounding in accord, resonant.^[2]
2. Agreeing, consistent; fitting.^[2][4]

Noun

1. (grammar, feminine, with littera understood) A consonant.^[2][4][1]

Related words

• cōnsonō
• sonō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de