circumflex
Phonetics, Orthography. consisting of, indicated by, or bearing the diacritic ^, ˘, or ~, placed over a vowel symbol in some languages to show that the vowel or the syllable containing it is pronounced in a certain way, as, in French, that the vowel so marked is of a certain quality and long, in Albanian, that the vowel is nasalized and stressed, or, in Classical Greek, that the syllable bears the word accent and is pronounced, according to the ancient grammarians, with a rise and fall in pitch.
Phonetics, Orthography. pronounced with or characterized by the quality, quantity, stress, or pitch indicated by such a mark.
bending or winding around.
Phonetics, Orthography. a circumflex mark or accent.
to bend around.
Origin of circumflex
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for circumflex
/ (ˈsɜːkəmˌflɛks) /
a mark (^) placed over a vowel to show that it is pronounced with rising and falling pitch, as in ancient Greek, as a long vowel rather than a short one, as in French, or with some other different quality
(of certain nerves, arteries, or veins) bending or curving around
Origin of circumflex
1Derived forms of circumflex
- circumflexion, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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