Lenis
/ˈliːnɪs/noun
Gentle, mild, or soft in manner, sound, or articulation.
Did you know?In phonetics, *lenis* is the technical opposite of *fortis*—a classic Latin contrast that literally maps speech sounds onto the ancient idea of “soft” versus “strong.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leh₂-
“to be soft, loose, or slack”
Latin
Latin
lenis
“soft, mild, gentle, calm”
Late Latin
Latin
lenis
“used in learned writing with the sense “soft” or “gentle,” especially in technical descriptions”
17th Century
English
lenis
“borrowed into English as a learned term meaning “soft” or “weak,” especially of consonants”
Modern English
English
lenis
“a phonetics term for a “soft” consonant, opposed to fortis”