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diesis

[ dahy-uh-sis ]
/ ˈdaɪ ə sɪs /
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noun, plural di·e·ses [dahy-uh-seez]. /ˈdaɪ əˌsiz/. Printing.
double dagger.
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Origin of diesis

1350–1400; originally, any of several musical intervals smaller than a tone (for which a double dagger was used as a symbol); Middle English <Latin di(h)esis<Greek díesis literally, a sending through, equivalent to die-, base of diïénai to send through (di-di-3 + hiénai to send) + -sis-sis

Words nearby diesis

dieseling, dieselize, diesel oil, diesinker, Dies Irae, diesis, dies non, die stamping, diester, diestock, diestrus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use diesis in a sentence

  • A diesis is a quarter tone; hence in a semitone there are included two dieses.

    Ten Books on Architecture|Vitruvius

  • The ratio which expresses the value of the diesis is that of 128 to 125.

    Piano Tuning|J. Cree Fischer

British Dictionary definitions for diesis

diesis
/ (ˈdaɪɪsɪs) /
noun plural -ses (-ˌsiːz)
printing another name for double dagger
music
  1. (in ancient Greek theory) any interval smaller than a whole tone, esp a semitone in the Pythagorean scale
  2. (in modern theory) the discrepancy of pitch in just intonation between an octave and either a succession of four ascending minor thirds (great diesis), or a succession of three ascending major thirds (minor diesis)

Word Origin for diesis

C16: via Latin from Greek: a quarter tone, literally: a sending through, from diienai; the double dagger was originally used in musical notation
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
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