#assibilate

• Assibilate — To transform or become transformed (said of a consonant, usually a plosive like 't' or 'd') into a sibilant fricative or affricate consonant (such as 'ț' or 'z'), under the influence of a neighboring palatal vowel; to undergo the process of assibilating. This phonetic structural phenomenon is essential in the evolution of Romance languages, explaining the delicate transition from classical Latin forms to modern Romanian.
• Assibilated — Having undergone the process of assibilation; a sound, phoneme, or consonant that has acquired a sibilant character (hissing or buzzing) following a phonetic evolution. In a technical sense, it describes the final state of a structurally modified sound due to the approximation of the articulating organs during vocal delivery.