Concept

Circumflex

Overview

The circumflex (◌̂) is a diacritic in the Latin and Greek scripts that is also used in the written forms of many languages and in various romanization and transcription schemes. It received its English name from Latin: circumflexus "bent around"—a translation of the Ancient Greek: περισπωμένη (perispōménē).

The circumflex in the Latin script is chevron-shaped (◌̂), while the Greek circumflex may be displayed either like a tilde (◌̃) or like an inverted breve (◌̑). For the most commonly encountered uses of the accent in the Latin alphabet, precomposed characters are available.

In English, the circumflex, like other diacritics, is sometimes retained on loanwords that used it in the original language (for example entrepôt, crème brûlée).

In mathematics and statistics, the circumflex diacritic is sometimes used to denote a function and is called a hat operator.

A free-standing version of the circumflex symbol, ^, is encoded in ASCII and Unicode and has become known as caret and has acquired special uses, particularly in computing and mathematics. The original caret, ‸, is used in proofreading to indicate insertion.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

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It is probable that this exercise is called [Greek omitted] from [Greek omitted] or [Greek omitted] to come up close or to be near together. QUESTION V. WHY, IN RECKONING UP DIFFERENT KINDS OF EXERCISES, HOMER PUTS CUFFING FIRST, WRESTLING NEXT, AND RACING LAST.
Plutarch, Complete Works of Plutarch — Volume 3
States what Circumflex is.
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283, 377). _Extremitatem_: = επιφανειαν. _Libramentum_: so this word is used by Pliny (see Forc.) for the slope of a hill. _Nulla crassitudo_: in Sext. the επιφανεια is usually described not negatively as here, but positively as μηκος μετα πλατους (_P.H._ III. 39), περας (_extremitas_) σοματος δυο εχον διαστασεις, μηκος και πλατος (_A.M._ III. 77). _Liniamentum ... carentem_: a difficult passage. Note (1) that the…
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Academica
States what Circumflex is.
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On the under side, in the upper part, there is an _articular ridge_, and on its scutal side, an _articular furrow_, receiving the articular ridge of the scutum. In the basi-carinal corner of the valve there are often crests for the attachment of the tergal depressor muscle. _Sack_, _Body_, _Cirri_, _Mouth_.--A slit-like orifice between the opercular valves leads into the _sack_, in which the body is lodged. The body…
Charles Darwin, A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia
States what Circumflex is.
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Circumflex

Overview

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