punctus circumflexus

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin pūnctus circumflexus (literally “bent-around mark”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌpʌŋktəs sɜːkəmˈflɛksəs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌpʌŋktəs sɚkəmˈflɛksəs/

Noun

punctus circumflexus

1. (palaeography) A medieval punctuation mark indicating a short pause (approximately '̣).

   Synonym: punctus flexus

   • 1953, Occasional Papers‎^[1], volume 3, University of Cambridge, page 10:

     […] MS. Bodley 340, going back to an early form of the text, has confused indications that such was intended: after 'þa' it has a punctus circumflexus […]

   • 2004, George D. Gopen, The Sense of Structure: Writing from the Reader's Perspective‎^[2], Pearson Longman, →ISBN, page 170:

     There was an entirely separate set of marks to coach the raising and lowering of the voice in oral delivery -- including the punctus elevatus, the punctus interrogotivus^[sic], and the punctus circumflexus.

   • 2011 July 22, Tadao Kudouchi, edited by Akio Oizumi and Jacek Fisiak, English Historical Linguistics and Philology in Japan‎^[3], De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 172:

     The punctus circumflexus does not seem to have been used commonly in manuscripts of other than liturgical texts.

See also

• punctus
• punctus elevatus
• punctus interrogativus
• punctus versus