dieresis etymology

Etymology and Meaning:

• Etymology:
  • From Ancient Greek διαίρεσις (diaíresis), meaning "division," "separation."
• Meaning:
  • A mark (¨) placed over a vowel to indicate that it is pronounced separately from the preceding vowel, instead of forming a diphthong with it.

Origin:

• The term "dieresis" was first used in grammar by the ancient Greek grammarian Aristophanes of Byzantium in the 3rd century BC.
• He used it to indicate the separation of two vowels in a word, such as in the word "ποιέω" (poieō), which he wrote as "ποιε¨ω."
• The dieresis mark was originally a small horizontal line placed over the vowel, but over time it evolved into the two dots that we see today.

Use and Purpose:

• Dieresis is used in various languages to:
  • Separate vowels that would otherwise form a diphthong.
  • Indicate a different pronunciation of a vowel, such as in German "ü" (pronounced as "oo").
  • Prevent vowel coalescence in words that are derived from Greek and Latin.

Examples:

• "coöperate" (English)
• "naïve" (French)
• "Müller" (German)
• "poesía" (Spanish)

dieresis relate terms

• heresy

  Etymology The word heresy is derived from the Old French hérésie which in turn co

• sect

  Etymology The word sect is derived from the Latin word secta meaning a cutting or

• diacritic

  Etymology The word diacritic comes from the Greek word diakritikos meaning distinct

• umlaut

  Etymology German Umlaut Old High German Umbilūti um around about lūt inclina

• mutual

  Etymology Latin mutuus reciprocal interchanged Meaning Shared or reciprocal

• insight

  Etymology The word insight is derived from the Middle English word insigt which its

• posthumous

  Etymology Post Latin after Humus Latin earth Meaning Pertaining to or o

• dismay

  Etymology Middle English dismayen verb dismay noun Old French desmaier verb des

• arcane

  Etymology Latin arcanus hidden secret mysterious Late Latin arcanum mystery

• argument

  Etymology The word argument derives from the Latin word arguere meaning to make cl

• dominion

  Etymology Latin dominium lordship dominion Proto Indo European dem to tame s

• entrepreneur

  Etymology The word entrepreneur comes from the French word entreprendre which means