Diaeresis

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /daɪəˈɹiːsɪs/

Alternative forms

• dieresis, diaresis US; diæresis obsolete

Origin

From Ancient Greek διαίρεσις ("division, split"), from διά (dia, "apart") + αἱρέω (aireō, "I take").

Full definition of diaeresis

Noun

1. (orthography) A diacritic ( ¨ ) placed over a vowel letter (especially the second of two consecutive ones) indicating that it is sounded separately, usually forming a distinct syllable, as in the English words naïve, Noël and Brontë, the French haïr and the Dutch ruïne.
2. (linguistics, prosody) The separation of a vowel, often a diphthong, into two distinct syllables.
3. (prosody) A natural break in rhythm when a word ends at the end of a metrical foot, in a line of verse.

Usage notes

The umlaut is an often visually identical diacritic which alters the sound of a single vowel (as in German schön). Properly speaking, the terms diaeresis and umlaut are not interchangeable, though speakers frequently use the term umlaut to refer to a diaeresis.

Synonyms

• tréma, trema