lenition

Meaning

Noun

A weakening of articulation causing a consonant to become lenis (soft).

Origin

Analyzable as lenis + -ition, or as if from Latin lēnītus + -ion, or Latin lēnītiō ("softening") from lēniō + -tiō (attested since at least the 1500s, the same timeframe lenition is first attested in English with the sense "assuaging"). Modelled on German Lenierung.

Modern English dictionary

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