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A.Word.A.Day--diaeresis

dieresis or diaeresis (die-ER-i-sis) noun

1. Linguistics. A mark placed over the second of two adjacent vowels to indicate that they are to be pronounced as separate sounds rather than a dipthong. A mark placed over a vowel, such as the final vowel in Bronte, to indicate that the vowel is not silent.

2. Poetry. A break or pause in a line of verse that occurs when the end of a word and the end of a metric foot coincide.

[Late Latin diaeresis, from Greek diairesis, from diairein, to divide : dia-, apart + hairein, to take.]

"There is usually a pause (caesura) within the third or fourth foot (rarely between them, and then called diaeresis) ... " Paul F. Baum, Prosody, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 28 Feb 1996.

"My daughter's name is Zoe, with two dots over the e. Every time I want to type her name in a Word document, I type Z-O-E. Word then underlines this spelling as incorrect and offers me a number of options, the second of which is correct. This can be time-consuming. Is there a simple way to insert the diaeresis? " Connected: Dotty about Zoe FAQS! FACTS! FAX!, The Daily Telegraph, 3 Dec 1998

This week's theme: words about punctuation and diacritics.

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