diaeresis

[ dahy-er-uh-sis ]
/ daɪˈɛr ə sɪs /

noun, plural di·aer·e·ses [dahy-er-uh-seez] /daɪˈɛr əˌsiz/.

OTHER WORDS FROM diaeresis

di·ae·ret·ic [dahy-uh-ret-ik] /ˌdaɪ əˈrɛt ɪk/, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for diaeretic

diaeresis

dieresis

/ (daɪˈɛrɪsɪs) /

noun plural -ses (-ˌsiːz)

the mark ¨, in writing placed over the second of two adjacent vowels to indicate that it is to be pronounced separately rather than forming a diphthong with the first, as in some spellings of coöperate, naïve, etc
this mark used for any other purpose, such as to indicate that a special pronunciation is appropriate to a particular vowel Compare umlaut
a pause in a line of verse occurring when the end of a foot coincides with the end of a word

Derived forms of diaeresis

diaeretic or dieretic (ˌdaɪəˈrɛtɪk), adjective

Word Origin for diaeresis

C17: from Latin diarēsis, from Greek diairesis a division, from diairein, from dia- + hairein to take; compare heresy