I. -nt adjective
Etymology: Latin sibilant-, sibilans, present participle of sibilare to hiss, whistle; of imitative origin like Greek sizein to hiss, Gothic swiglon to blow the flute, whistle, Old High German sweglōn to blow the flute, Welsh chwythu to blow an instrument, Old Slavic svistati, zvisdati to hiss, whistle, Sanskrit kṣvedati he whistles, roars, hums, hisses
: having, containing, or producing the sound of or a sound resembling that of the s or the sh in sash
a sibilant affricate
a sibilant snake
— compare shibilant
• sib·i·lant·ly adverb
II. noun
( -s )
: a sibilant speech sound (as English s, z, sh, zh, ch(.tsh), or j(.dzh))