noun, plural di·er·e·ses [dahy-er-uh-seez] /daɪˈɛr əˌsiz/.
- the separation of two adjacent vowels, dividing one syllable into two.
- a sign (¨) placed over the second of two adjacent vowels to indicate separate pronunciation, as in one spelling of the older forms naïve and coöperate: no longer widely used in English.
- Prosody. the division made in a line or verse by coincidence of the end of a foot and the end of a word.
noun plural -ses (-ˌsiːz)
- a variant spelling of diaeresis
also diaeresis, 1610s, “sign marking the division of a diphthong into two simple sounds,” from Late Latin diaeresis, from Greek diairesis “division,” noun of action from diairein “to divide, separate,” from dia- “apart” (see dia-) + hairein “to take” (see heresy).
adj.
- Of or relating to dieresis.
- Dividing; ulcerating; corroding.
n.
- solution of continuity