diaëresis

plural diaëreses

1. countablenonstandardrareuncountableNonstandard spelling of diaeresis.

   Diaëresis (¨) is used to divide a diphthong into two syllables; as, aërial.

   1838, William Lennie, The Principles of English Grammar, Comprising the Substance of All the Most Approved English Grammars Extant, Briefly Defined, and Neatly Arranged; With Copious Exercises in Parsing and Syntax, 19th edition, page 163

   5 more examples

   Synaeresis, the opposite of Diaëresis, is the throwing of two syllables into one; as, Seest for seëst. Looked for look-ed.

   1843, John Forbes, “Prosody”, in A Double Grammar of English and Gaelic, in which the Principles of Both Languages are Clearly Explained; […], Edinburgh: W. Whyte & Co. […], →OCLC, paragraph 7, page 363, column 1

   The Diaëresis (¨) placed over the latter of two vowels denotes that the diphthong is to be sounded as two syllables; as Boötes.

   1866, Matthias Green, An English Grammar, given in the Simplest and Most Attractive Method Ever Propounded; With Copious Examples and Exercises, page 164

   As the sound of each character is produced by a single emission of the voice, their spoken language is monosyllabic. Where two syllables appear to be, from the sound, it will be found upon examination that they are two characters joined, and where the pronunciation is written with a diaëresis, both vowels are, or should be sounded together.

   1870, James B. Lawrence, China and Japan, and a Voyage Thither: An Account of a Cruise in the Waters of the East Indies, China, and Japan, page 274

   Diaëresis (¨) placed over a diphthong shows that it must be pronounced in two syllables: as, Aërometer.

   1879, George Bartle, A New Grammar of the English Language with the Principles of Analysis, page 183

   The sibyl apologizingly answered: "There is ratably an allegeable difference between a conferable ellipsis and trisyllabic diaëresis."

   1900, Guy Steeley, The Modern Elocutionist Or Popular Speaker: A Manual of Instruction on Cultivation of the Voice, Gesticulation, Expression, Posing, Etc., page 120