Diacritic

//ˌdaɪəˈkɹɪtɪk// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Distinguishing.
  2. 2
    Denoting a distinguishing mark applied to a letter or character. not-comparable
Adjective
  1. 1
    capable of distinguishing wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A special mark added to a letter to indicate a different pronunciation, stress, tone, or meaning.
  2. 2
    a mark added to a letter to indicate a special pronunciation wordnet
  3. 3
    A letter added to another letter serving a similar indicative function.

    "A notable feature in N is the frequent oa spellings […] The a is here a diacritic which is meant to distinguish /ɔ̄/ from /ō/ on the model of the distinction ea /ǣ/—e /ē/ in the AB texts."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek διακριτικός (diakritikós, “distinguishing, separative”), from διακρῑ́νω (diakrī́nō, “to distinguish, separate”), from δια- (dia-, “between”) + κρῑ́νω (krī́nō, “I separate, distinguish”).

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek διακριτικός (diakritikós, “distinguishing, separative”), from διακρῑ́νω (diakrī́nō, “to distinguish, separate”), from δια- (dia-, “between”) + κρῑ́νω (krī́nō, “I separate, distinguish”).

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