From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Spirant \Spi"rant\, n. [L. spirans, -antis, p. pr. of spirare to
breathe. See {Spirit}.] (Phon.)
A term used differently by different authorities; -- by some
as equivalent to fricative, -- that is, as including all the
continuous consonants, except the nasals m, n, ng; with the
further exception, by others, of the liquids r, l, and the
semivowels w, y; by others limited to f, v, th surd and
sonant, and the sound of German ch, -- thus excluding the
sibilants, as well as the nasals, liquids, and semivowels.
See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 197-208.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
spirant
adj 1: of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a
constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both
`thin' and `then') [syn: {fricative}, {continuant},
{sibilant}, {spirant}, {strident}]
n 1: a continuant consonant produced by breath moving against a
narrowing of the vocal tract [syn: {fricative consonant},
{fricative}, {spirant}]
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