consonantyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[consonant 词源字典]
consonant: [14] Etymologically, consonant means ‘sounding together’. It comes via Old French consonant from Latin consonāns, the present participle of consonāre, a compound verb formed from the prefix com- ‘together’ and sonāre ‘sound’. Its application to particular speech sounds, contrasted with ‘vowels’, comes from the notion that they were ‘pronounced together with’ vowels, rather than independently.
=> sonorous, sound[consonant etymology, consonant origin, 英语词源]
consonant (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 14c., "sound other than a vowel," from Latin consonantem (nominative consonans), present participle of consonare "to sound together, sound aloud," from com- "with" (see com-) + sonare "to sound" (see sonata). Consonants were thought of as sounds that are only produced together with vowels.
consonant (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 15c., from Old French consonant (13c.), from Latin consonantem (nominative consonans), present participle of consonare (see consonant (n.)).