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

See Examples For:

macron

Aside from Greek letters, the only special characters displayed are a few letters e and i with a breve or macron.

From The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 4 by Ernest Hartley Coleridge

The diphthong oe is represented by Œ and œ; "y" with a circumflex above by "ŷ"; "o" with a macron above by Ō and ō.

From The Curse of Koshiu A Chronicle of Old Japan by Lewis Wingfield

Index: The name 'Yosōgi' had the macron over the first o instead of the second one, inconsistent with the other index listing and the chapter text, so the index entry was corrected.

From The Foundations of Japan Notes Made During Journeys Of 6,000 Miles In The Rural Districts As A Basis For A Sounder Knowledge Of The Japanese People by J.W. Robertson Scott

The use of the macron above the letter "O" in names throughout the book is inconsistent.

From Japanese Fairy World Stories from the Wonder-Lore of Japan by Ozawa

Letters in brackets with a = sign before it means that the letters have a macron over them, e.g.

From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer