diacritic

American  

[dahy-uh-krit-ik] / ˌdaɪ əˈkrɪt ɪk /

noun

1. Also called diacritical mark.  a mark, point, or sign added or attached to a letter or character to distinguish it from another of similar form, to give it a particular phonetic value, to indicate stress, etc., as a cedilla, tilde, circumflex, or macron.

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adjective

1. diacritical.

2. diagnostic.

diacritic British  

/ ˌdaɪəˈkrɪtɪk /

noun

1. Also called: diacritical mark.  a sign placed above or below a character or letter to indicate that it has a different phonetic value, is stressed, or for some other reason

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adjective

1. another word for diacritical

Etymology

Origin of diacritic

First recorded in 1670–80; from Greek diakritikós “able to distinguish, distinguishing,” equivalent to dia- dia- + kritikós; critic

Example Sentences

Bold, bright letters decorated with the diacritics that denote tones in the Vietnamese language advertised the dishes on sale.

From New York Times

He originally spelled Ikea with an acute accent on the “e,” but dropped the fake diacritic in the 1960s.

From Washington Post

Exclamation points, interrobangs and innumerable French diacritics were all part of his patois.

From New York Times

A trema is a diacritic mark that consists of two dots and is placed over a letter, “naïve” in the strip.

From Washington Post

Older versions did not include diacritics, for example.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• lone
• original
• particular
• personal
• respective
• separate
• single
• singular
• sole
• special
• specific