consonant (n.) [←] [...] from Latin [...] from com- "with" (see com-) + sonare "to sound" (see sonata). Consonants were thought of as sounds that are only produced together with vowels.
Is last sentence false, because this IPA Chart with Sounds displays (and vocalises) consonants that can be pronounced alone? If so, which past nationality or peoples thought of consonants as above? Why? This doesn't answer the above question.
PS: The above consists with Linguistics For Dummies (1 ed, 2012; by Déchaine, Burton, Vatikiotis-Bateson):
[p 248:] Producing a speech sound requires an open vocal tract and airflow. This is what vowels (like a, e, i, o, u) do — that’s why any vowel can be a syllable by itself. Consonants (like p, t, k, s, d) constrict the vocal tract and typically can’t be heard on their own. So it’s no wonder the most common syllable in the world’s languages is the consonant plus vowel (CV) combination that gives us words like so, be, tea, too.
[p 250:] For example, in most languages, vowels can stand alone as a syllable, but consonants typically cannot. But languages make different decisions about which consonants can be syllabic.