Definition of "lenis" [lenis]

• Articulated with relatively low pressure of the airstream below the glottis, as English (b) and (d) compared with (p) and (t). (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The fortis stops, being marked, are much less frequent and have greater restrictions than the 'lenis' stops such as *t or *dh in the traditional notation."
• "We can see that unaspirated stops are probably "lenis" i.e. requiring comparatively less articulatory effort while aspirated stops are "fortis"."
• "Here are all of the Latin words that could conceivably be translated into English as "kind": pius, lenis, genus, comis, benignus, benignitas, beneficus, et almus."