a. - Applied to, or distinguishing, a speech element
consisting of tone, or proper vocal sound, not pure as in the vowels,
but dimmed and otherwise modified by some kind of obstruction in the
oral or the nasal passage, and in some cases with a mixture of breath
sound; -- a term introduced by Dr. James Rush in 1833. See Guide to
Pronunciation, //155, 199-202.
n. - A subtonic sound or element; a vocal consonant, as b, d,
g, n, etc.; a subvocal.
n. - The seventh tone of the scale, or that immediately below
the tonic; -- called also subsemitone.