diaeresis

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a diacritical mark (two dots) placed over a vowel in German to indicate a change in sound

Etymology

PIE word *dwís Unadapted borrowing from Late Latin diaeresis (“distribution; division of a diphthong into two syllables”), from Ancient Greek δῐαίρεσῐς (dĭaíresĭs, “distribution, division; division of a poetic line when the end of a word and a metrical foot coincide; division of a diphthong into two syllables”), from δῐαιρέω (dĭairéō, “to divide; to distinguish; to resolve a diphthong or contracted form”) + -σῐς (-sĭs, suffix forming abstract nouns or nouns of action, process, or result). Δῐαιρέω (Dĭairéō) is derived from δῐᾰ- (dĭă-, prefix meaning ‘across; through; in different directions’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“doubly, twice; in two”)) + αἱρέω (hairéō, “to grasp, seize, take”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to grasp, seize, take”)).

In classic literature

Synonyms

umlaut, dieresis

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