noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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UK:/ˈɒksɪə/
UK:/ɒkˈsiːə/
homophone: oxea
1
noun
Meaning 1
An Ancient Greek pitch-marking diacritic: ⟨ ́ ⟩; written atop vowels, it denotes high pitch on short vowels, and rising pitch on long vowels and diphthongs.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From the Ancient Greek ὀξεῖᾰ (oxeîă), an elliptical use for ἡ ὀξεῖᾰ προσῳδῐ́ᾱ (hē oxeîă prosōidĭ́ā, “the acute accent”) — ἡ (hē, the nominative feminine singular form of ὁ, ho, “the”, the definite article) + ὀξεῖᾰ (okseia, the nominative feminine singular form of ὀξῠ́ς, oksus, “sharp”, of sound “shrill”, of tones “high-pitched”) + προσῳδῐ́ᾱ (prosōdiā, “variation in pitch of the speaking voice”, “pronunciation of a syllable on a certain pitch”, “a mark [i.e., a diacritic] indicating normally unwritten differences of pronunciation, viz. vowel quantity, breathing, and pitch”).
Across languages
Translations
2 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Greek:
οξεία
(oxeía)
— Ancient Greek diacritic marking high or rising pitch
Ancient Greek:
ὀξεῖᾰ
(oxeîă)
— Ancient Greek diacritic marking high or rising pitch