Main Entry: di·aer·e·sis

Variant(s): or di·er·e·sis \dī-ˈer-ə-səs, British also -ˈir-\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural di·aer·e·ses \-ˌsēz\

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

Date: circa 1611

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

— di·ae·ret·ic \ˌdī-ə-ˈre-tik\ adjective