Tenuis consonant

A tenuis consonant is a stop or affricate which is "unvoiced, unaspirated," and "unglottalized." That is, it has a "plain" phonation like IPA| [p, t, ts, tʃ, k] , with a voice onset time close to zero, as in Spanish "p, t, ch, k," or English "p, t, k" after "s (spy, sty, sky)."

The term "tenuis" comes from Latin translations of Ancient Greek grammar, which differentiated three series of consonants, voiced "β δ γ," aspirate "φ θ χ," and tenuis "π τ κ;" these series have close parallels in other Indo-European languages.

In Ancient Greek, when an aspirate consonant came before a tenuis or aspirate consonant, it lost its aspiration and became tenuis, for example "φ" + "τ" → "πτ, φ" + "φ" → "πφ."

ee also

*Grassmann's law
*"Spiritus asper"
*"Spiritus lenis"