Main Entry:

ce·dil·la

Pronunciation:

\si-ˈdi-lə\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Spanish, the obsolete letter ç (actually a medieval form of the letter z), cedilla, from diminutive of ceda, zeda the letter z, from Late Latin zeta — more at zed

Date:

1599

: the diacritical mark ¸ placed under a letter (as ç in French) to indicate an alteration or modification of its usual phonetic value (as in the French word façade)