sonorant: Meaning and Definition of

so•no•rant

1. a voiced sound that is less sonorous than a vowel but more sonorous than a stop or fricative and that may occur as either a sonant or a consonant, as (l, r, m, n, y, w).
2. a speech sound characterized by relatively free air passage through some channel, as a vowel, semivowel, liquid, or nasal. Cf.

1. of, pertaining to, or having the properties of a sonorant.