approximant

[ uh-prok-suh-muhnt ]

noun

, Phonetics.

1. an articulation in which one articulator is close to another, but not sufficiently so to form a stop or a fricative.
2. a sound characterized by such an articulation, as (w), (y), (r), (l), or a vowel.

Word History and Origins

Origin of approximant¹

approxim(ate) + -ant

Example Sentences

For example, they took “zog,” the Albanian word for bird, and subbed in the approximant “y” to make “yog” or the affricative “ts” to make “tsog.”

From Scientific American

I was even approximately aware of the correct German pronunciation, with the soft, palatal approximant ja—Ben-ya-min—because an adult at synagogue had a few weeks before the trip to San Diego explained to me that my name in Hebrew was not Ben-juh-min, but Ben-cha-min.

From Salon