Meanings
- biologyA medieval punctuation mark indicating a short pause (approximately '̣).
The punctus circumflexus does not seem to have been used commonly in manuscripts of other than liturgical texts.
2011 July 22, Tadao Kudouchi, edited by Akio Oizumi and Jacek Fisiak, English Historical Linguistics and Philology in Japan, De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 1722 more examples
[…]MS. Bodley 340, going back to an early form of the text, has confused indications that such was intended: after 'þa' it has a punctus circumflexus[…]
1953, Occasional Papers, volume 3, University of Cambridge, page 10There was an entirely separate set of marks to coach the raising and lowering of the voice in oral delivery -- including the punctus elevatus, the punctus interrogotivus^([sic]), and the punctus circumflexus.
2004, George D. Gopen, The Sense of Structure: Writing from the Reader's Perspective, Pearson Longman, →ISBN, page 170Synonyms: punctus flexus
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA medieval punctuation mark indicating a short pause (approximately '̣).
Origin
- Medieval Latinpūnctus circumflexus
- Englishpunctus circumflexus
From Medieval Latin pūnctus circumflexus (literally “bent-around mark”).
More words from Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
punctus circumflexus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punctus%20circumflexus
“punctus circumflexus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punctus%20circumflexus. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “punctus circumflexus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punctus%20circumflexus.
Source: punctus circumflexus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.