umlaut

[ oo m-lout ]
/ ˈʊm laʊt /
Linguistics

noun

a mark (¨) used as a diacritic over a vowel, as ä, ö, ü, to indicate a vowel sound different from that of the letter without the diacritic, especially as so used in German. Compare dieresis.
Also called vowel mutation. (in Germanic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel.

verb (used with object)

to modify by umlaut.
to write an umlaut over.

Origin of umlaut

1835–45; < German, equivalent to um- about (i.e., changed) + Laut sound

Words nearby umlaut

umf, umfazi, umiak, umist, uml, umlaut, umlungu, ummah, umnak island, ump, umph

Example sentences from the Web for umlaut

British Dictionary definitions for umlaut

umlaut
/ (ˈʊmlaʊt) /

noun

the mark (¨) placed over a vowel in some languages, such as German, indicating modification in the quality of the vowel Compare diaeresis
(esp in Germanic languages) the change of a vowel within a word brought about by the assimilating influence of a vowel or semivowel in a preceding or following syllable

Word Origin for umlaut

C19: German, from um around (in the sense of changing places) + Laut sound