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
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
- 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.