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DIACRITIC

 - 4 dictionary results

di⋅a⋅crit⋅ic

  [dahy-uh-krit-ik]
Use DIACRITIC in a Sentence
–noun
1. Also called diacritical mark. a mark, point, or sign added or attached to a letter or character to distinguish it from another of similar form, to give it a particular phonetic value, to indicate stress, etc., as a cedilla, tilde, circumflex, or macron.
–adjective
2. diacritical.
3. diagnostic.
Origin:
1670–80; < Gk diakritikós distinctive, equiv. to dia- dia- + kritikós; see critic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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di·a·crit·ic   (dī'ə-krĭt'ĭk)   
adj.  

  1. Diacritical.

  2. Medicine Diagnostic or distinctive.

n.  A mark, such as the cedilla of façade or the acute accent of resumé, added to a letter to indicate a special phonetic value or distinguish words that are otherwise graphically identical.

[Greek diakritikos, distinguishing, from diakritos, distinguished, from diakrīnein, to distinguish : dia-, apart; see dia- + krīnein, to separate; see krei- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

diacritic 
1699, from Gk. diakritikos "that separates or distinguishes," from diakrinein "to separate."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

diacritic di·a·crit·ic (dī'ə-krĭt'ĭk) or di·a·crit·i·cal (-ĭ-kəl)
adj.
Diagnostic or distinctive.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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