di|er|e|sis

di|er|e|sis «dy EHR uh sihs; especially British dy IHR uh sihs», noun, plural -ses «-seez».

1. two dots placed over the second of two consecutive vowels to indicate that the second vowel is to be pronounced in a separate syllable. Examples: »

Noël, naïve, diploë.

2. the division of one syllable into two, especially by the separation of a dipthong into two simple vowels.

3. Prosody. the break which occurs when the end of a foot coincides with the end of a word.

4. (in the pronunciations in this book) a mark over a to show that it is pronounced as in far (fär), and over u to show that it is pronounced as in rule (rül). Also diaeresis.

╂[< Late Latin diaeresis < Greek diaíresis separation, division < diaireîn divide < diá- apart + haireîn take]

Usage dieresis. With prefixes, a hyphen is still often used instead of a dieresis, especially in words with re- (re-enlist). In words of common occurrence, the tendency is to drop both dieresis and hyphen (cooperation, zoology, reentry). In the body of a word, however, the dieresis is still sometimes used (Chloë, Phaëthon).