cedilla

noun

ce·​dil·​la si-ˈdi-lə How to pronounce cedilla (audio)
: the diacritical mark ¸ placed under a letter (such as ç in French) to indicate an alteration or modification of its usual phonetic value (as in the French word façade)

Examples of cedilla in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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 In Latvian, it is written with a cedilla under the l, but is sometimes rendered Aliona, Aljona or Alyona. Ben Rothenberg, New York Times, 8 July 2017

Word History

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

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cedilla was in 1599

Dictionary Entries Near cedilla

Cite this Entry

“Cedilla.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cedilla. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

cedilla

noun
ce·​dil·​la si-ˈdil-ə How to pronounce cedilla (audio)
: a mark placed under the letter c (as ç) to show that it is to be pronounced like s
Etymology

from Spanish cedilla "mark under a c," originally a name for the obsolete letter ç, from ceda, zeda "the letter z," derived from Greek zēta "zeta"

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