aspirate
part of speech
verb (aspirate, aspirates, aspirated, aspirating); noun (an aspirate, aspirates)
meaning for a pupil
1) (speech) To aspirate a sound is to say it with a puff of breath, like the «h» in «hat» or the «p» in «pin». tree →
2) (noun, phonetics) An aspirate is an «h» sound or a sound said with a puff of air. tree →
3) (medicine) To aspirate something is to suck it out with a tube or needle, such as fluid from the body. tree →
4) (medicine) To aspirate food or liquid is to breathe it into the lungs by accident. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In Sefer Yetzirah it means the hard, breathy sound of the seven double letters, in contrast to the soft one. Interpretation: The seven double letters are said to have two sounds, hard and soft, and the book links them to opposites such as life and death, or peace and war. In the primary lessons: Used in phonics and languages (dropping your aitches in some English accents, aspirated «p» in «pin» but not in «spin»; Mandarin pinyin «p» vs «b»), and in medicine and first aid.
examples
- The two sounds of each letter are the hard and the soft—the aspirated and the softened. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
- The two sounds of each letter are the hard and the soft — the aspirated and the softened. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
- There were formed seven double letters, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Pe, Resh, Tau, each has two voices, either aspirated or softened. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
- In «pin», the «p» is aspirated; hold your hand in front of your mouth to feel the puff. tree →
- Some London speakers do not aspirate the «h» in «house». tree →
- In Mandarin, «p» is aspirated and «b» is not. tree →
- The doctor aspirated fluid from the swollen knee. tree →
- Babies can aspirate milk if they are fed lying flat. tree →
- Old grammar books call «h» an aspirate. tree →
note
Verb: AS-pi-rate; noun: AS-pi-rut. Noun «aspiration» can mean this breathing sound, but more often means a hope or ambition. Related: «respirate», «inspire» (all from Latin «breathe»).
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «aspirate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.