'Fricative' definitions:
Definition of 'fricative'
(from WordNet)
adjective
Of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then') [syn: fricative, continuant, sibilant, spirant, strident]
noun
A continuant consonant produced by breath moving against a narrowing of the vocal tract [syn: fricative consonant, fricative, spirant]
Definition of 'Fricative'
From: GCIDE
- Fricative \Fric"a*tive\, a. [See Frication.] (Phon.) Produced by the friction or rustling of the breath, intonated or unintonated, through a narrow opening between two of the mouth organs; uttered through a close approach, but not with a complete closure, of the organs of articulation, and hence capable of being continued or prolonged; -- said of certain consonantal sounds, as f, v, s, z, etc. -- n. A fricative consonant letter or sound. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 197-206, etc. [1913 Webster]