Well, Mr. B. may be correct in saying that
Nowadays, it refers specifically to the dot above the letter i. However, none of the listings in Onelook say anything about that. The ones that have the diacritic def. all simply say cedilla, dot, etc. This makes me think of comparing tittle to whiskey and bourbon: all bourbons are whiskies but not all whiskies are bourbons. The dictionaries seem to say that tittle is whiskey. But acc'g. to Mr. Burnside it's a bourbon! (Yeah, well, I haven't been awake very long.)
As to those "inappropriate apostrophes": all I can say is that I still think that i's gets the meaning across quicker than is does. [defiant head toss e]
Now: y'all take a look at a couple of things I found at Onelook: 1.) Go to
http://poets.notredame.ac.jp/cgi-bin/wn?cmd=wn&word=tittle and take a gander at the section called "Coordinate Terms (sisters) of noun tittle". I've never seen any other place that includes a list like that.
2.) Surprise!
Date: Mon Jan 3 00:19:30 EST 2000
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tittle
X-Bonus: The truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be blind. -Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
tittle (TIT-l) noun
1. A small diacritic mark, such as an accent, a vowel mark, or a dot
over an i.
2. The tiniest bit; an iota.
[Middle English titil, from Medieval Latin titulus, diacritical mark,
from Latin, title, superscription.]
"Reporters and editors crave detail, down to the dot and tittle, and
assume as much about the reader, listener or viewer."
Deborah Mathis, Clinton: The Arkansas view, USA Today, 17 Jan 1994.
Ever wondered if there is a word for that dot over the letter i, or what to
call that fleshy fold of skin hanging from the throat of a rooster? Ever spent
a weekend trying to find out what to call those vertical grooves on the side
of a coin, or if there is a term for the big toe? Relax, help is at hand. This
week's AWAD answers these and a few other questions that may be keeping you up
at night. (-: -Anu
http://wordsmith.org/awad/archives/0100
