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diesis

[ dahy-uh-sis ]
/ ˈdaɪ ə sɪs /
|

noun, plural di·e·ses [dahy-uh-seez] /ˈdaɪ əˌsiz/. Printing.

double dagger.

Nearby words

  1. diesel-electric,
  2. diesel-hydraulic,
  3. dieseling,
  4. dieselize,
  5. diesinker,
  6. diester,
  7. diestock,
  8. diestrus,
  9. diet,
  10. diet kitchen

Origin of diesis

1350–1400; orig., 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for diesis

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

    Piano Tuning|J. Cree Fischer

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

    Ten Books on Architecture|Vitruvius
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