| diacritic |
| Definition: That which serves to distinguish is diacritic; thus, a diacritical mark is one that is attached to a letter either: (1) to indicate that the letter has an unusual phonetic value or (2) to distinguish a word from another, similarly spelled word. |
| Example: The acute accent above the e in resumé. |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Greek diakritikos, that which separates or distinguishes. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first OED citation is from 1677: "Plato in his Republic 9. makes a Philosopher to be … a diacritic or very critic instrument." (Gale Crt. Gentiles iii. 87) |