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Showing results for "diaeresis"

diaeresis

American  
[dahy-er-uh-sis] / daɪˈɛr ə sɪs /

noun

  • diaereses
    plural
  1. dieresis.


diaeresis British  
/ daɪˈɛrɪsɪs /

noun

  1. 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

  2. this mark used for any other purpose, such as to indicate that a special pronunciation is appropriate to a particular vowel Compare umlaut

  3. a pause in a line of verse occurring when the end of a foot coincides with the end of a word

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns


Etymology

Origin of diaeresis

C17: from Latin diarēsis , from Greek diairesis a division, from diairein , from dia- + hairein to take; compare heresy


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

She understands that “The New Yorker’s identity is partly defined by its deliberately conservative diaeresis on words like ‘coöperate.’

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 15, 2019

If you find these difficult to read, The New Yorker has a solution: next year, consider the diaeresis.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 2, 2019

I could jettison the diaeresis, impose my own logic on the hyphen, and defy Webster’s by, say, making two words out of “hardworking.”

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 25, 2016

I retained the format of the name "Gäeta" as originally printed, even though the rules for placing a diaeresis imply that it should be "Gaëta."

From Poems by Denis Florence MacCarthy

The ending of a word and foot together within the verse is called a diaeresis.

From New Latin Grammar by Charles E. (Charles Edwin) Bennett

A memorial to the Brontë sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne has had diaereses added above the letter "e" of the authors' surname, 85 years after it was unveiled.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2024

Ms Wright, who went to Poets' Corner for a research trip, said the missing diaereses "really troubled" her as the names of the Brontë sisters were spelled incorrectly.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2024

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