a. and sb. [ad. mod.L. fricātīv-us, f. L. fricāre to rub: see -ATIVE.]
A. adj.
1. Of a consonant-sound: Produced by the friction of the breath through a narrow opening between two of the mouth-organs.
1860. Marsh, Eng. Lang., 489. The b of the English alphabet is very pure and distinct in its pronunciation, showing no tendency to the more explosive articulation of some of the German dialects, or the more fricative of the Spanish.
1875. Whitney, Life Lang., iv. 61. The cavity may be so narrowed, at one and another point, that the friction of the breath, as driven out through the aperature, forms the conspicuous element in the audible product; this, then, is a sound of very different character, a fricative consonant.
1883. [see FAUCAL sb.].
2. ‘Sounded by friction, as certain musical instruments’ (Cent. Dict.).
B. sb. A fricative consonant.
1863. Lepsius, Standard Alphabet, 68. h belongs, therefore, to the unvocalised strong fricatives.
