"approximant" meaning in English

See approximant in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /əˈpɹɑksəmənt/ [US], /əˈpɹɒksɪmənt/ [UK] Audio: en-us-approximant.ogg Forms: approximants [plural]
Etymology: From Latin approximāns. In the phonetics sense first used by Peter Ladefoged, the mathematical concept is attributed to Paul Halmos. Etymology templates: {{bor|en|la|approximāns}} Latin approximāns Head templates: {{en-noun}} approximant (plural approximants)
  1. (phonetics) A consonant sound made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract, while still allowing a smooth flow of air. Liquids and glides are approximants. Categories (topical): Phonetics Translations (consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract): ձայնորդ (jaynord) (Armenian), 近音 (jìnyīn) (Chinese Mandarin), approksimantti (Finnish), spirante [feminine] (French), approximante [feminine] (French), Approximant [masculine] (German), Näherungslaut [masculine] (German), approximáns (Hungarian), közelítőhang (Hungarian), nálgunarhljóð [neuter] (Icelandic), nándarhljóð [neuter] (Icelandic), ناسوده (nâsude) (Persian), aproximante [feminine] (Portuguese), approximant [common-gender] (Swedish), dynesolyn [masculine] (Welsh)
    Sense id: en-approximant-en-noun-ZV6gU1-C Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 3 entries, Pages with entries, Terms with Armenian translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Icelandic translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Persian translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Welsh translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 79 21 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 81 19 Disambiguation of Pages with 3 entries: 84 16 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 88 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Armenian translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 82 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Icelandic translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 89 11 Disambiguation of Terms with Persian translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 88 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Welsh translations: 86 14 Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, phonetics, phonology, sciences Disambiguation of 'consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract': 97 3
  2. (mathematics) An approximation to the solution of a function, series, etc. Categories (topical): Mathematics
    Sense id: en-approximant-en-noun-DBKuLsYM Topics: mathematics, sciences
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: Padé approximant Related terms: consonant

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "Padé approximant"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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        "2": "la",
        "3": "approximāns"
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      "name": "bor"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin approximāns. In the phonetics sense first used by Peter Ladefoged, the mathematical concept is attributed to Paul Halmos.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "approximants",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
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  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "approximant (plural approximants)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "consonant"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Phonetics",
          "orig": "en:Phonetics",
          "parents": [
            "Linguistics",
            "Language",
            "Social sciences",
            "Communication",
            "Sciences",
            "Society",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "79 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "84 16",
          "kind": "other",
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "88 12",
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          "_dis": "87 13",
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        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
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        },
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          "_dis": "86 14",
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Icelandic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "89 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Persian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "88 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Welsh translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A consonant sound made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract, while still allowing a smooth flow of air. Liquids and glides are approximants."
      ],
      "id": "en-approximant-en-noun-ZV6gU1-C",
      "links": [
        [
          "phonetics",
          "phonetics"
        ],
        [
          "consonant",
          "consonant"
        ],
        [
          "sound",
          "sound"
        ],
        [
          "vocal tract",
          "vocal tract"
        ],
        [
          "Liquids",
          "liquid"
        ],
        [
          "glide",
          "glide"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(phonetics) A consonant sound made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract, while still allowing a smooth flow of air. Liquids and glides are approximants."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "human-sciences",
        "linguistics",
        "phonetics",
        "phonology",
        "sciences"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "roman": "jaynord",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "word": "ձայնորդ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "jìnyīn",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "word": "近音"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "word": "approksimantti"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "spirante"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "approximante"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Approximant"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Näherungslaut"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "word": "approximáns"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "word": "közelítőhang"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "nálgunarhljóð"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "nándarhljóð"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fa",
          "lang": "Persian",
          "roman": "nâsude",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "word": "ناسوده"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "aproximante"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "approximant"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "dynesolyn"
        }
      ]
    },
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          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Mathematics",
          "orig": "en:Mathematics",
          "parents": [
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            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An approximation to the solution of a function, series, etc."
      ],
      "id": "en-approximant-en-noun-DBKuLsYM",
      "links": [
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          "mathematics",
          "mathematics"
        ],
        [
          "approximation",
          "approximation"
        ]
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(mathematics) An approximation to the solution of a function, series, etc."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "mathematics",
        "sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈpɹɑksəmənt/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈpɹɒksɪmənt/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-approximant.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3d/En-us-approximant.ogg/En-us-approximant.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/En-us-approximant.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Paul Halmos",
    "Peter Ladefoged"
  ],
  "word": "approximant"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 3 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Armenian translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Icelandic translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Persian translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Welsh translations"
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  "etymology_text": "From Latin approximāns. In the phonetics sense first used by Peter Ladefoged, the mathematical concept is attributed to Paul Halmos.",
  "forms": [
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      "tags": [
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
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        "A consonant sound made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract, while still allowing a smooth flow of air. Liquids and glides are approximants."
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          "glide"
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(phonetics) A consonant sound made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract, while still allowing a smooth flow of air. Liquids and glides are approximants."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "human-sciences",
        "linguistics",
        "phonetics",
        "phonology",
        "sciences"
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      "glosses": [
        "An approximation to the solution of a function, series, etc."
      ],
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          "mathematics",
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        [
          "approximation",
          "approximation"
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        "(mathematics) An approximation to the solution of a function, series, etc."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "mathematics",
        "sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "ipa": "/əˈpɹɑksəmənt/",
      "tags": [
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      "ipa": "/əˈpɹɒksɪmənt/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "jaynord",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "word": "ձայնորդ"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "jìnyīn",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "word": "近音"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "word": "approksimantti"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "spirante"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "approximante"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Approximant"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Näherungslaut"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "word": "approximáns"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "word": "közelítőhang"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "nálgunarhljóð"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "nándarhljóð"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "nâsude",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "word": "ناسوده"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "aproximante"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "approximant"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "dynesolyn"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Paul Halmos",
    "Peter Ladefoged"
  ],
  "word": "approximant"
}

Download raw JSONL data for approximant meaning in English (4.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-02-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-02-02 using wiktextract (ca09fec and c40eb85). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.