diaeresis

American  

[dahy-er-uh-sis] / daɪˈɛr ə sɪs /

noun

plural

diaereses

1. dieresis.

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diaeresis British  

/ daɪˈɛrɪsɪs, ˌdaɪəˈrɛtɪk /

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

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Other Word Forms

• diaeretic adjective

Etymology

Origin of diaeresis

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