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diacritic

Those dots, lines, and swoops that appear above, below, and occasionally even beside certain letters in words. The purpose of diacritical marks is to change the sound of the individual letter they are marking or to change the meaning of an entire word by changing which syllable is accented. Often incorrectly used to describe such characteristics as the "i" and "j" dot. Déjà vu. 

diacritic image
Credit: Academy Standards Board
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ASB Technical Report 071 Forensic Document Examination: Terms and Definitions. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2025. Source link
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