a mark such as an accent, placed over, under or through a letter in some languages, to show that the letter should be pronounced in a different way from the same letter without a mark 变音符,附加符号(置于字母上方、下方或穿过字母,表示发音不同) Word Originlate 17th cent.: from Greek diakritikos, from diakrinein ‘distinguish’, from dia- ‘through’ + krinein ‘to separate’.