soft sign

American  

noun

1. the Cyrillic letter (ь) as used in Russian to indicate that the preceding consonant is palatalized, or to represent (y) between a palatalized consonant and a vowel.

2. front jer.

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Etymology

Origin of soft sign

First recorded in 1850–55; translation of Russian myágkiĭ znak

Example Sentences

That extra, rogue letter, which resemble a small English b, is the previously mentioned soft sign: a silent Cyrillic character that alters the sound of the previous letter.

From BBC

And then, in the soft sign language of the rein let loose, the ribs knee-nudged, they bade their horses go.

From Project Gutenberg