diacritic

American  

[dahy-uh-krit-ik] / ˌdaɪ əˈkrɪt ɪk /

noun

1. Also called diacritical mark.  a mark, point, or sign added or attached to a letter or character to distinguish it from another of similar form, to give it a particular phonetic value, to indicate stress, etc., as a cedilla, tilde, circumflex, or macron.

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adjective

1. diacritical.

2. diagnostic.

diacritic British  

/ ˌdaɪəˈkrɪtɪk /

noun

1. Also called: diacritical mark.  a sign placed above or below a character or letter to indicate that it has a different phonetic value, is stressed, or for some other reason

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adjective

1. another word for diacritical

Etymology

Origin of diacritic

First recorded in 1670–80; from Greek diakritikós “able to distinguish, distinguishing,” equivalent to dia- dia- + kritikós; see critic

Related Words

• lone
• original
• particular
• personal
• respective
• separate
• single
• singular
• sole
• special
• specific