dieresis

or di·aer·e·sis

[ dahy-er-uh-sis ]

noun

, plural di·er·e·ses [dahy-, er, -, uh, -seez].

1. Linguistics, Phonetics. the separation of two adjacent vowels, dividing one syllable into two.
2. Phonetics, Orthography. a diacritic (¨) 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.
3. Prosody. the division made in a line or verse by coincidence of the end of a foot and the end of a word.

dieresis

/ daɪˈɛrɪsɪs; ˌdaɪəˈrɛtɪk /

noun

1. a variant spelling of diaeresis

Derived Forms

• dieretic, adjective

Other Words From

• di·e·ret·ic [dahy-, uh, -, ret, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dieresis¹

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

Example Sentences

Dieresis is unpredictable in both editions; forms such as Phaeton, Ocyrrhe and Dane are common, and have been silently corrected.

From Project Gutenberg

Since the ligatures and are used consistently, dieresis can be assumed even when not explicitly indicated.

From Project Gutenberg

Since the ligatures and are used consistently, dieresis in oe and ae can be assumed even when not explicitly indicated.

From Project Gutenberg

Dieresis is unpredictable; forms such as Alcathe and Pirithus are common, and have been silently corrected.

From Project Gutenberg