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DIAERESIS

 - 7 dictionary results

di⋅aer⋅e⋅sis

  [dahy-er-uh-sis]
Use DIAERESIS in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ses  [-seez] .
dieresis.
Related forms:
di⋅ae⋅ret⋅ic  [dahy-uh-ret-ik] , adjective

di⋅er⋅e⋅sis

  [dahy-er-uh-sis]
–noun, plural -ses  [-seez] .
1. the separation of two adjacent vowels, dividing one syllable into two.
2. a sign (¨) placed over the second of two adjacent vowels to indicate separate pronunciation, as in one spelling of the older forms naïve and coöperate: no longer widely used in English.
3. Prosody. the division made in a line or verse by coincidence of the end of a foot and the end of a word.
Also, diaeresis.

Origin:
1605–15; < L diaeresis < Gk diaíresis lit., distinction, division, equiv. to diaire-, s. of diaireîn to divide (di- di- 3 + haireîn to take) + -sis -sis

Related forms:
di⋅e⋅ret⋅ic  [dahy-uh-ret-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To DIAERESIS
di·aer·e·sis   (dī-ěr'ĭ-sĭs)   
n.  Variant of dieresis.
di·er·e·sis or di·aer·e·sis   (dī-ěr'ĭ-sĭs)   
n.   pl. di·er·e·ses or di·aer·e·ses (-sēz')

  1. Linguistics

    1. A mark ( ¨ ) placed over the second of two adjacent vowels to indicate that they are to be pronounced as separate sounds rather than a diphthong, as in naïve.

    2. A mark ( ¨ ) placed over a vowel, such as the final vowel in Brontë, to indicate that the vowel is not silent.

  2. Poetry A break or pause in a line of verse that occurs when the end of a word and the end of a metrical foot coincide.


[Late Latin diaeresis, from Greek diairesis, from diairein, to divide : dia-, apart; see dia- + hairein, to take.]
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

dieresis 
1611, from L.L. diæresis, from Gk. diairesis "division," from diairein "to divide, separate," from dia- "apart" + hairein "to take."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

dieresis di·er·e·sis (dī-ěr'ĭ-sĭs)
n.
See solution of continuity.

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

diaeresis

(from Greek diairein, "to divide"), the resolution of one syllable into two, especially by separating the vowel elements of a diphthong and, by extension, two adjacent vowels, as in the word cooperation; it is also the mark placed over a vowel to indicate that it is pronounced as a separate syllable. In classical prosody, diaeresis refers to the end of a word coinciding with the completion of the metrical foot, in contrast to caesura, which refers to a word ending within a metrical foot

Learn more about diaeresis with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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