tilde

[ til-duh ]

noun

1. Phonetics, Orthography. a diacritic (~) placed over an n, as in Spanish mañana, to indicate a palatal nasal sound or over a vowel, as in Portuguese são, to indicate nasalization.
2. swung dash.
3. Mathematics. a symbol (∼) indicating equivalency or similarity between two values.
4. Logic. a similar symbol indicating negation.

tilde

/ ˈtɪldə /

noun

1. the diacritical mark (~) placed over a letter to indicate a palatal nasal consonant, as in Spanish señor. This symbol is also used in the International Phonetic Alphabet to represent any nasalized vowel

Word History and Origins

Origin of tilde¹

1860–65; < Spanish < Latin titulus superscription. See title

Word History and Origins

Origin of tilde¹

C19: from Spanish, from Latin titulus title, superscription

Example Sentences

With grainy exuberance over peppy horns and percussion, Belafonte praises the more-or-less Latin dance moves — “cha-cha, tango, waltz or de rumba” — of his girl named “See-NOR-a”; if she was a “Señora,” with a tilde, she’d be married.

From New York Times

When Pitbull did an update in 2011, “Shake Senora,” he pronounced the tilde.

From New York Times

The correct Spanish pronunciation of “Angeleño” is “Ahn-hell-len-yo,” as dictated by the tilde, the diacritical mark above the second n.

From Los Angeles Times

Waldie, my friend and literary idol, has written wistfully about restoring the Spanish pronunciation of “Angeleño,” with the tilde; into the 1860s, he has observed, residents usually spoke at least a bit of each other’s language, and “Angeleños,” with the tilde, is what you likely would have heard.

From Los Angeles Times

When media used his full name, they omitted the tilde in “Cañedo.”

From Los Angeles Times