diaeresis
[dahy-er-uh-sis]
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dieresis
or di·aer·e·sis
[dahy-er-uh-sis]
- the separation of two adjacent vowels, dividing one syllable into two.
- a sign (¨) placed over the second of two adjacent vowels to indicate separate pronunciation, as in one spelling of the older forms naïve and coöperate: no longer widely used in English.
- Prosody. the division made in a line or verse by coincidence of the end of a foot and the end of a word.
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Origin of dieresis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for diaeresis
Historical Examples
Diaeresis or synaeresis may usually be employed according to the case.
Legends, Tales and PoemsGustavo Adolfo Becquer
With regard to modulation, too, the lines with diaeresis differ from those without it.
A History of English VersificationJakob Schipper
The letter sometimes is printed without the diaeresis as ‘o’.
With the removal of the hyphenation, these have been changed to use the diaeresis everywhere.
With the Doughboy in FranceEdward Hungerford
The ending of a word and foot together within the verse is called a diaeresis.
New Latin GrammarCharles E. Bennett
diaeresis
dieresis
- the mark ¨, in writing placed over the second of two adjacent vowels to indicate that it is to be pronounced separately rather than forming a diphthong with the first, as in some spellings of coöperate, naïve, etc
- this mark used for any other purpose, such as to indicate that a special pronunciation is appropriate to a particular vowelCompare umlaut
- a pause in a line of verse occurring when the end of a foot coincides with the end of a word
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin diarēsis, from Greek diairesis a division, from diairein, from dia- + hairein to take; compare heresy
dieresis
- a variant spelling of diaeresis
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for diaeresis
dieresis
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
dieresis
(dī-ĕr′ĭ-sĭs)Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.