soft sign

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. jer ( def 1 ).
2. front jer. jer ( def 2 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of soft sign¹

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