cedilla

views updated May 23 2018

ce·dil·la / səˈdilə/ • n. a mark ( ¸ ) written under the letter c, esp. in French, to show that it is pronounced like an s rather than a k (e.g.,façade). ∎  a similar mark under sin Turkish and other oriental languages.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

CEDILLA

views updated May 29 2018

CEDILLA. A DIACRITIC used in French under the letter c to indicate a soft pronunciation (/s/ not /k/): Académie française, façade. This use may or may not be carried over into English in a borrowed word: for example, both façade and facade occur. The cedilla is also used in Portuguese, Romanian, and Turkish.

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language TOM McARTHUR

cedilla

views updated Jun 27 2018

cedilla the mark, written under c. XVI. — Sp. cedilla, now zedilla, dim. of zeda letter z.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

More From encyclopedia.com

About this article

cedilla

All Sources -
Updated Aug 08 2016 About encyclopedia.com content Print Topic

You Might Also Like