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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).


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

"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

Etymology

Origin of macron

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There are also single instances of the letters m and x with macron and two instances of letter n with macron.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Wells A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See by Dearmer, Percy

Diacritical marks have been avoided, with the exception of the macron.

From The Little Clay Cart Mrcchakatika by Ryder, Arthur William

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 Wingfield, Lewis

Index: entry for word 'yofuku' had macron over the o here, but not anywhere in the book, so it was made consistent by using a normal o.

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 Scott, J.W. Robertson

Index: entry for phrase 'Sei-kō U-doku' did not have a macron but in the book it did, so edited the index entry.

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 Scott, J.W. Robertson