Meanings
plural oxiae · alternative oxeia
- communicationsAn Ancient Greek pitch-marking diacritic: ⟨ ´ ⟩; written atop vowels, it denotes high pitch on short vowels, and rising pitch on long vowels and diphthongs.
Origin
- Ancient Greekὀξεῖᾰ
- Englishoxia
From the Ancient Greek ὀξεῖᾰ (oxeîă), an elliptical use for ἡ ὀξεῖᾰ προσῳδῐ́ᾱ (hē oxeîă prosōidĭ́ā, “the acute accent”) — ἡ (hē, the nominative feminine singular form of ὁ, ho, “the”, the definite article) + ὀξεῖᾰ (okseia, the nominative feminine singular form of ὀξῠ́ς, oksus, “sharp”, of sound “shrill”, of tones “high-pitched”) + προσῳδῐ́ᾱ (prosōdiā, “variation in pitch of the speaking voice”, “pronunciation of a syllable on a certain pitch”, “a mark [i.e., a diacritic] indicating normally unwritten differences of pronunciation, viz. vowel quantity, breathing, and pitch”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ὀξεῖᾰ
- ὀξεῖᾰ (oxeîă)Ancient Greek diacritic marking high or rising pitch
Greek οξεία
- οξεία (oxeía)Ancient Greek diacritic marking high or rising pitch
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
oxia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxia
“oxia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oxia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxia.
Source: oxia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.