/seuh nawr"euhnt, -nohr"-, soh-/ , Phonet.
n.
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. obstruent .
adj.
3. of, pertaining to, or having the properties of a sonorant.
[ sonor- (s. of sonor ) sound, noise + -ANT; see SONOROUS ]