Cedilla
a mark (¸) placed under a consonant letter, as under c in French, in Portuguese, and formerly in Spanish, to indicate that it is pronounced (s), under c and s in Turkish to indicate that they are pronounced, respectively, (ch) and (sh), or under t and s in Romanian to indicate that they are pronounced, respectively, (ts) and (sh).
this mark used as a diacritic of arbitrary value in transliteration of words from non-Roman into Roman alphabetic characters.
Historical Examples
noun
a character (¸) placed underneath a c before a, o, or u, esp in French, Portuguese, or Catalan, denoting that it is to be pronounced (s), not (k). The same character is used in the scripts of other languages, as in Turkish under s
n.
c.1600, from Spanish cedilla, zedilla, literally “little z,” from a Latin-like diminutive of Greek zeta “the letter ‘z’.” The mark (formerly also used in Spanish) was derived from that letter and indicates a “soft” sound in letters in positions where normally they have a “hard” sound. See zed.
Read Also:
- Ceding
to yield or formally surrender to another: to cede territory. Contemporary Examples Historical Examples verb when intr, often foll by to. to transfer, make over, or surrender (something, esp territory or legal rights): the lands were ceded by treaty (transitive) to allow or concede (a point in an argument, etc) v. 1630s, from French céder […]
- Cedr
Comprehensive Epidemiologic Data Resource
- Cedric
a male given name. Contemporary Examples Historical Examples masc. proper name, modern, apparently introduced by Sir Walter Scott (Cedric the Saxon is a character in “Ivanhoe”); apparently a mistake for Old English name Cerdic.
- Cedron
the black torrent, the brook flowing through the ravine below the eastern wall of Jerusalem (John 18:1). (See KIDRON.) Historical Examples
- Cedula
noun an authorization or permit issued by the Spanish or a South American government Word Origin Spanish cédula ‘schedule’ Usage Note politics Historical Examples