diaeresis

noun

di·​aer·​e·​sis dī-ˈer-ə-səs 

British also -ˈir-

variants or dieresis

plural diaereses dī-ˈer-ə-ˌsēz 

British also -ˈir-

or diereses

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

diaeretic

ˌdī-ə-ˈre-tik 

adjective

Examples of diaeresis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

circa 1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for diaeresis

• hemiparesis
• paresis

Kids Definition

diaeresis

noun

di·​aer·​e·​sis

variants or dieresis

dī-ˈer-ə-səs

plural diaereses or diereses

-ˈer-ə-ˌsēz

: a mark ¨ placed over a vowel to show that it is pronounced in a separate syllable (as in naïve or Brontë)