approximant

Meaning

Noun

• A consonant sound made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract, while still allowing a smooth flow of air. Liquids and glides are approximants.
• An approximation to the solution of a function, series, etc.

Origin

• From Latin approximāns. In the phonetics sense first used by Peter Ladefoged
• {{cite-book
• |author=Peter Ladefoged
• |authorlink=Peter Ladefoged
• |year=1964
• |title=A Phonetic Study of West African Languages
• |location=Cambridge
• |publisher=Cambridge University Press
• |lang=en
• |page=25
• |pageurl=https://books.google.de/books?id=yRGP5-gzxYUC&lpg=PP1&hl=de&pg=PA25#v=onepage&f=false
• , the mathematical concept is attributed to Paul Halmos.{{cite-book
• |year=2017
• |author=Philip J. Maher
• |title=Operator Approximant Problems Arising from Quantum Theory
• |lang=en
• |page=1
• |pageurl=https://books.google.de/books?id=lVovDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA2&hl=de&pg=PA2#v=onepage&f=false
• |isbn=9783319611709