diacritic

1 of 2

noun

di·​a·​crit·​ic ˌdī-ə-ˈkri-tik 

: 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

2 of 2

adjective

di·​a·​crit·​ic ˌdī-ə-ˈkri-tik 

less common variant of diacritical

1

: serving as a diacritic

2

a

: distinctive

… the diacritical elements in culture.

—S. F. Nadel

b

: capable of distinguishing

students of superior diacritical powers

Examples of diacritic in a Sentence

Noun

Two diacritics appear in the word “déjà vu.”

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The diacritics struck me as quite unusual for a European language. — The Dial, 17 Dec. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1866, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for diacritic

• arthritic
• chloritic
• dendritic
• enclitic
• ferritic
• granitic
• graphitic
• hamitic
• nephritic
• neritic
• pleuritic
• pruritic

Kids Definition

diacritic

noun

di·​a·​crit·​ic ˌdī-ə-ˈkrit-ik 

: diacritical mark