Definition of "percussive" adjective comparative more percussive , superlative most percussive
Characterized by percussion ; caused by or related to the action of striking or pounding something . quotations examples
Quotations As argued by Dr . Burney , and as implied by the customs of still extant barbarous races , the first musical instruments were , without doubt , percussive —sticks , calabashes , tom -toms —and were used simply to mark the time of the dance ; and in this constant repetition of the same sound , we see music in its most homogeneous form .
1864, Herbert Spencer, “Progress: Its Law and Cause”, in Illustrations of Universal Progress: A Series of Discussions, New York: D. Appleton and Company, page 26
(phonetics) Produced by striking organs together , for example , smacking the lips or gnashing the teeth . quotations examples
Quotations Two additional , and much rarer , percussive articulations are represented by symbols in the extIPA chart . Their exclusion from the main IPA chart is an indication that they do not seem to occur as typical forms of adult speech in any part of the world , although they may have some communicative function . The symbol , [ʬ], is used to transcribe a bilabial percussive sound , which might be described in lay terms as lip -smacking .
2013, Nigel Hewlett, Janet Mackenzie Beck, An Introduction to the Science of Phonetics, Routledge