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

The letter e with a macron is represented as ē.

From Bakemono Yashiki (The Haunted House), Retold from the Japanese Originals Tales of the Tokugawa, Volume 2 by De Benneville, James S. (James Seguin)

Double vowels representing a single long sound are rare except in a few names; the macron on the first “u” in “Tronhūus” is redundant.

From Three in Norway by Two of Them by Clutterbuck, Walter J.

The letter "m" with a macron have been replaced by "mm" as there is no unicode symbol or symbol combination to display this character satisfactorily.

From Aphrodisiacs and Anti-aphrodisiacs: Three Essays on the Powers of Reproduction by Davenport, John

Editorial note: Long s's have been turned into s's, and the occasional use of a macron over a vowel to express a following n or m has been replaced with the following n or m.

From The Bride by Potter, Alfred Claghorn

Page 125: The term 'jizō' did not have a macron over the o, but it did in another location and in the index, so I edited it.

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