macron

American  

[mey-kron, mak-ron] / ˈmeɪ krɒn, ˈmæk rɒn /

noun

Phonetics, Orthography.

1. a horizontal line used as a diacritic over a vowel to indicate that it has a long sound or other specified pronunciation, as (ā) in fate (fāt).

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macron British  

/ ˈmækrɒn /

noun

1. a diacritical mark (¯) placed over a letter, used in prosody, in the orthography of some languages, and in several types of phonetic respelling systems, to represent a long vowel

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Etymology

Origin of macron

1850–55; noun use of Greek makrón, neuter of makrós long. See macro-

Example Sentences

“Once you grasp the vowels, you can get your tongue around most of the words — long sounds, short sounds, the macron,” the horizontal line above a vowel that indicates a stressed syllable, he said.

From New York Times

From individual tartlets topped with seasonal fruit to chocolate eclairs, plus layer cakes, napoleons, macrons and quiche, there’s something to satisfy anyone.

From Seattle Times

Many protesters slammed the French media for portraying the protests as led by violent agitators and for siding with macrons government.

From Fox News

“And then I had seen someone else put the macron over a vowel in their name, so that’s how that happened.”

From The New Yorker

Either way, let's just be thankful that there's not a diacritical macron above the "e" in Re, that way lies madness.

From The Verge