dieresis

3 definitions found

dieresis - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Dieresis \Di*er"e*sis\, n. [NL.]
     Same as Di[ae]resis.
     [1913 Webster]

  Diaeresis \Di*[ae]r"e*sis\, Dieresis \Di*er"e*sis\ (?; 277), n.;
     pl. Di[ae]reses or Diereses. [L. diaeresis, Gr. ?, fr. ?
     to divide; dia` through, asunder + ? to take. See Heresy.]
     1. (Gram.) The separation or resolution of one syllable into
        two; -- the opposite of syn[ae]resis.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A mark consisting of two dots [[umlaut]], placed over the
        second of two adjacent vowels, to denote that they are to
        be pronounced as distinct letters; as, co["o]perate,
        a["e]rial.
        [1913 Webster]

dieresis - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  dieresis
      n 1: a diacritical mark (two dots) placed over a vowel in German
           to indicate a change in sound [syn: umlaut, dieresis,
           diaeresis]