A
diacritic – also
diacritical mark,
diacritical point, or
diacritical sign – is a
glyph added to a
letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the
Greek διακριτικός (
diakritikós, "distinguishing"), which is composed of the
ancient Greek διά (
diá, through) and
κρίνω (
krínein or
kríno, to separate).
Diacritic is primarily an
adjective, though sometimes used as a
noun, whereas
diacritical is only ever an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the
acute ( ´ ) and
grave ( ` ), are often called
accents. Diacritical marks may appear above or below a letter, or in some other position such as within the letter or between two letters.