a short, straight mark (¯) placed over a vowel to indicate that it is long or is to be pronounced in a certain way
Origin of macron
Classical Greek makron, neuter of makros, long: see macro-macron
ma·cronWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"macron." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/macron>.
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macron. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/macron
macron
noun
- A symbol (&thin;¯on;&thin;) placed over a vowel to show that it has a long sound.
- The horizontal mark (&thin;¯on;&thin;) used to indicate a stressed or long syllable in a foot of verse.
Origin of macron
Greek makron from neuter of makros long ; see māk- in Indo-European roots.THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"macron." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/macron>.
APA Style
macron. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/macron
Noun
(plural macrons)
- (orthography) A short, straight, horizontal diacritical mark (¯) placed over any of various letters. It usually is used to indicate that the pronunciation of the vowel is long; in Mandarin pinyin (Chinese), it indicates the first tone, e.g. chūzūchē.
Usage notes
- The pronunciation măkʹrŏn (with a short, rather than a long, a) is the one that is etymologically consistent in terms of vowel quantity; the α in μακρόν (makron) is pronounced short, as [a].
- Macra is a rare plural.
- macro-
Origin
From the Ancient Greek μακρόν (makron), neuter form of μακρός (makros, “long”) (English macro-).
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"macron." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/macron>.
APA Style
macron. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/macron
