diaeresis

noun

di·​aer·​e·​sis dī-ˈer-ə-səs 

 British also  -ˈir-

variants or dieresis

plural diaereses dī-ˈer-ə-ˌsēz 

 British also  -ˈir-

1

: a mark ¨ placed over a vowel to indicate that the vowel is pronounced in a separate syllable (as in naïve or Brontë) compare umlaut

2

: the break in a verse caused by the coincidence of the end of a foot with the end of a word

diaeretic

ˌdī-ə-ˈre-tik 

adjective

Examples of diaeresis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples include Spanish or French words like jalapeño (tilde), fiancé (acute), très (accent grave), Noël (diaeresis), façade (cedilla) or hôpital (circumflex). —Marc Saltzman, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin diaeresis, from Greek diairesis, literally, division, from diairein to divide, from dia- + hairein to take

First Known Use

circa 1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

diaeresis

noun

di·​aer·​e·​sis

variants or dieresis

dī-ˈer-ə-səs

plural diaereses or diereses

-ˈer-ə-ˌsēz

: a mark ¨ placed over a vowel to show that it is pronounced in a separate syllable (as in naïve or Brontë)