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]
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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