cedilla
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Spanish cedilla (literally “little zed”), c. 1600. In Spanish cedilla referred to the letter ⟨Ç⟩, which had evolved from ⟨Ꝣ⟩, a Visigothic form of the letter Z (called a Z with copete); hence the name. The lower part of ⟨Ç⟩ (which came to be reinterpreted as a diacritical mark under a C) is the remnant of the original Z, after it gradually reduced in size; whereas the upper part was originally just an ornamentation over the Z (which increased in size until it resembled letter C, and finally came to be identified with this letter).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
cedilla (plural cedillas)
| ¸ Ç ç |
- (orthography) In the spelling of Catalan, French, Portuguese and some other languages, a mark ⟨¸⟩ sometimes placed under the letter c to indicate that it is pronounced /s/ rather than /k/, as in Catalan força, French menaçant, and Portuguese almoço, and also used in various other languages to change the sounds of other letters.
Usage notesEdit
Sometimes retained in words which have been adopted into English, specifically from French, such as facade/façade.
TranslationsEdit
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See alsoEdit
AnagramsEdit
SpanishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Spanish ceda (“letter Z”) + -illa (diminutive suffix); cognate with modern Spanish zeta.
PronunciationEdit
- Syllabification: ce‧di‧lla
NounEdit
cedilla f (plural cedillas)
- name of the letter ç
- (orthography) cedilla
DescendantsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “cedilla”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014