English

Alternative forms

• oxeia

Noun

oxia ‎(plural oxiae)

1. (orthography and typography) An Ancient Greek pitch-marking diacritic: ⟨ ´ ⟩; written atop vowels, it denotes high pitch on short vowels, and rising pitch on long vowels and diphthongs.

Usage notes

• In a diphthong, the oxia is written atop the second of the two vowels.
• The oxia is virtually identical in form to the Latin-script acute accent: ⟨ ´ ⟩.
• The Modern Greek stress-marking diacritic, the tonos: ⟨ ΄ ⟩, was originally designed as a vertical line, thereby constituting a compromise of forms between the Ancient Greek oxia and baria; nevertheless, the oxia and tonos have identical appearance in all but the most scrupulous typesetting.

See also

Other Ancient Greek diacritics

Translations