cedilla
English edit
Etymology edit
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).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
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 notes edit
Sometimes retained in words which have been adopted into English, specifically from French, such as facade/façade.
Translations edit
|
See also edit
Anagrams edit
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
From Old Spanish ceda (“letter Z”) + -illa (diminutive suffix); cognate with modern Spanish zeta.
Pronunciation edit
- Syllabification: ce‧di‧lla
Noun edit
cedilla f (plural cedillas)
- name of the letter ç
- (orthography) cedilla
Descendants edit
Further reading edit
- “cedilla”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
- English terms borrowed from Spanish
- English terms derived from Spanish
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɪlə
- Rhymes:English/ɪlə/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Orthography
- en:Diacritical marks
- Spanish terms derived from Old Spanish
- Spanish terms suffixed with -illa
- Spanish 3-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/iʝa
- Rhymes:Spanish/iʝa/3 syllables
- Rhymes:Spanish/iʎa
- Rhymes:Spanish/iʎa/3 syllables
- Rhymes:Spanish/iʃa
- Rhymes:Spanish/iʃa/3 syllables
- Rhymes:Spanish/iʒa
- Rhymes:Spanish/iʒa/3 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish feminine nouns
- es:Orthography