circumflex Hear it!

circumflex definition

cir·cum·flex (sʉr′kəm fleks′)

noun

a mark (^ or ˜) used over certain vowel letters in the orthography of some languages to indicate a specific sound or quality, or used in certain systems of symbols for representing speech sounds: in modern use, as in French, the form (^) is the most common
also circumflex accent

Etymology: L circumflexus, pp. of circumflectere < circum, around + flectere, to bend

adjective

  1. of, with, or marked by a circumflex
  2. bending around; curved

transitive verb

  1. Now Rare to bend around; curve
  2. to write with a circumflex

Related Forms:

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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