diaeresis

[ dahy-er-uh-sis ]

noun

, plural di·aer·e·ses [dahy-, er, -, uh, -seez].

1. dieresis.

diaeresis

/ daɪˈɛrɪsɪs; ˌdaɪəˈrɛtɪk /

noun

1. the mark ¨, in writing placed over the second of two adjacent vowels to indicate that it is to be pronounced separately rather than forming a diphthong with the first, as in some spellings of coöperate , naïve , etc
2. this mark used for any other purpose, such as to indicate that a special pronunciation is appropriate to a particular vowel Compare umlaut
3. a pause in a line of verse occurring when the end of a foot coincides with the end of a word

Derived Forms

• diaeretic, adjective

Other Words From

• di·ae·ret·ic [dahy-, uh, -, ret, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of diaeresis¹

C17: from Latin diarēsis , from Greek diairesis a division, from diairein , from dia- + hairein to take; compare heresy

Example Sentences

The letter sometimes is printed without the diaeresis as ‘o’.

From Project Gutenberg

This is also spelled "daimio" without diaeresis above the "i" elsewhere in the text.

From Project Gutenberg

The ending of a word and foot together within the verse is called a diaeresis.

From Project Gutenberg

With the removal of the hyphenation, these have been changed to use the diaeresis everywhere.

From Project Gutenberg

With regard to modulation, too, the lines with diaeresis differ from those without it.

From Project Gutenberg