diacritic

noun

di·​a·​crit·​ic ˌdī-ə-ˈkri-tik How to pronounce diacritic (audio)
: a mark near or through an orthographic or phonetic character or combination of characters indicating a phonetic value different from that given the unmarked or otherwise marked element
diacritic table

Examples of diacritic in a Sentence

Two diacritics appear in the word “déjà vu.”
Recent Examples on the Web The algorithm stumbled over the symbols that had a dot placed underneath or on the side, and the team used contextual analysis to deal with these diacritics. Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 20 Mar. 2023 The floral patterns at the bottom of the logo as well as the football at the top both reference Qatari culture, while the dots either side of the football are actually Arabic diacritics. SI.com, 3 Sep. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'diacritic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of diacritic was in 1866

Dictionary Entries Near diacritic

Cite this Entry

“Diacritic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diacritic. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

diacritic

noun
di·​a·​crit·​ic ˌdī-ə-ˈkrit-ik How to pronounce diacritic (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on diacritic

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