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

Example Sentences

A Diaeresis is put over the latter of two vowels, to show that they belong to two distinct syllables; thus, cooperate.

From McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader by McGuffey, William Holmes

This is called the Bucolic Diaeresis, as it was borrowed by the Romans from the Bucolic poetry of the Greeks.

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