umlauts

Noun

umlaut (plural umlauts or umlaute)

1. An assimilatory process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vocoid that is separated by one or more consonants.
   • In fits of concealed despair that went unnoticed even by those close enough to touch, Julien cursed the language of umlauts, eszetts, and gerunds.1997, Matthew Piepenburg, Time and the Maiden, →ISBN, page 62
2. The umlaut process (as above) that occurred historically in Germanic languages whereby back vowels became front vowels when followed by syllable containing a front vocoid (e.g. Germanic lūsiz > Old English lȳs(i) > Modern English lice).
3. A vowel so assimilated.
4. The diacritical mark ( ¨ ) placed over a vowel when it indicates a (rounded) front vowel
5. (informal) Synonym of diaeresis.
   • "Naïve" takes an umlaut because it is pronounced as two syllables.

   Synonyms:

   diaeresis

See all 7 meanings of umlaut