cedilla Hear it!

cedilla definition

ce·dilla (sə dil′ə)

noun

a hooklike mark put under c, as in some French words, to indicate that it is to be sounded as the voiceless palatal fricative (s), as in façade

Etymology: Fr cédille < Sp cedilla, dim. of zeda (< Gr zēta, a zeta or z): so called because z was written after c to give the sound of the letter s

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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