diaeresis

[dahy-er-uh-sis]

noun, plural di·aer·e·ses

[dahy-er-uh-seez] /daɪˈɛr əˌsiz/.

dieresis.

Related formsdi·ae·ret·ic

[dahy-uh-ret-ik] /ˌdaɪ əˈrɛt ɪk/, adjective

dieresis

or di·aer·e·sis

[dahy-er-uh-sis]

noun, plural di·er·e·ses

[dahy-er-uh-seez] /daɪˈɛr əˌsiz/.

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.

Origin of dieresis

1605–15; < Latin diaeresis < Greek diaíresis literally, distinction, division, equivalent to diaire-, stem of diaireîn to divide (di- di-³ + haireîn to take) + -sis -sis

Related formsdi·e·ret·ic

[dahy-uh-ret-ik] /ˌdaɪ əˈrɛt ɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for diaeresis

Historical Examples of diaeresis

Diaeresis or synaeresis may usually be employed according to the case.
Legends, Tales and Poems
Gustavo Adolfo Becquer
With regard to modulation, too, the lines with diaeresis differ from those without it.
A History of English Versification
Jakob Schipper
The letter sometimes is printed without the diaeresis as ‘o’.
A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States : From the Earliest Beginning down to the Year 1848
George Tobias Flom
With the removal of the hyphenation, these have been changed to use the diaeresis everywhere.
With the Doughboy in France
Edward Hungerford
The ending of a word and foot together within the verse is called a diaeresis.
New Latin Grammar
Charles E. Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for diaeresis

diaeresis

dieresis

noun plural -ses (-ˌsiːz)

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

Derived Formsdiaeretic or dieretic (ˌdaɪəˈrɛtɪk), adjective

Word Origin for diaeresis

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

dieresis

noun plural -ses (-ˌsiːz)

a variant spelling of diaeresis

Derived Formsdieretic (ˌdaɪəˈrɛtɪk), adjective

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

also diaeresis, 1610s, "sign marking the division of a diphthong into two simple sounds," from Late Latin diaeresis, from Greek diairesis "division," noun of action from diairein "to divide, separate," from dia- "apart" (see dia-) + hairein "to take" (see heresy).

diaeresis in Medicine

dieresis

[dī-ĕr′ĭ-sĭs]

solution of continuity