Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The principle of trusting to chance; fortuitous selection.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun rare Casual choice; fortuitous selection; hazard.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun linguistics A sound change in which a consonant becomes more fortis.
  • noun obsolete casual choice; fortuitous selection; hazard

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • The fortition of laryngeals before the sibilant is just commonsense linguistics and doesn't require a more fanciful explanation beyond that.

    Laryngeal overdose in the Indo-European second person 2009

  • Tropylium: "An idea that intrigues me would be non-compensatory lengthening based on foot type considerations, similar to the theory of gradation by fortition proposed for Finno-Samic."

    A few more words on my new Gemination rule for Pre-IE 2008

  • An idea that intrigues me would be non-compensatory lengthening based on foot type considerations, similar to the theory of gradation by fortition proposed for Finno-Samic.

    A few more words on my new Gemination rule for Pre-IE 2008

  • The sound change would be sporadic but not without credible phonetic motivation since the height of the vowel e and the preceding palatal l which is naturally +high as well might have lacked sufficient saliency for speakers to maintain without further fortition of the preceding m.

    Some random thoughts on Proto-Aegean languages 2008

  • The sound change would be sporadic but not without credible phonetic motivation since the height of the vowel e and the preceding palatal l which is naturally +high as well might have lacked sufficient saliency for speakers to maintain without further fortition of the preceding m.

    Archive 2008-04-01 2008

  • Both gemination and creaky phonation are a form of fortition.

    Precising on a new rule to explain Pre-IE word-final voicing 2008

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