Diacriticals

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Symbols added to letters to indicate a modification in pronunciation or to distinguish meaning
2. Marks used in writing systems to denote tonal variations or phonetic changes
3. Additional signs placed above or below characters in scripts to modify sound or intonation

Etymology: The word "diacritical" is an adjective built from "diacritic" plus the suffix "-al", and "diacritics" (the noun the user asks about, in plural form) names the marks that go with it. The root of "diacritic" is Ancient Greek "diakritikós", formed from "diá" ("through, apart") and "krínein" ("to separate, distinguish, judge"). The sense was originally about discrimination and judgement, the ability to tell things apart, before it came to mean marking distinctions in writing. English took the Greek-derived "diacritic" as a technical term, and the adjective "diacritical" followed on the same pattern as other English words ending in "-al". The plural "diacriticals" is the form of this adjective used as a noun, so it refers to the marks themselves, such as accents, cedillas and umlauts, that distinguish one letter or sound from another.

Synonyms: accent marks, diacritics