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:

circumflex Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • have: I'm chuffed, and even more chuffed because I had a circumflex over the a!

Modifies a noun

  • artery: The distal part of the right circumflex coronary artery was occluded by a dry red thrombus.