3

Consider:

cliché = a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

blasé = unimpressed with or indifferent to something because one has experienced or seen it so often before.

I wanted to learn how to type that sign, the sign on the top of the ending e in above examples, by computer keyboard. I started to search about it, but soon I faced the problem that I do not know what is that sign called in English.

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    Rather curiously (given France is right next door to us, whereas it's thousands of miles away from America), British English is much more likely to discard the accent than AmE. And I must admit if I ever see an accent in, say, née Smith, my first thought is it's probably an American source. Accents aren't really "English" in England. – FumbleFingers Jul 13 '16 at 20:43
  • 1
    It is the acute accent as @duskwuff has said in his/her edit to the answer by gattsbr. – Alan Carmack Jul 14 '16 at 1:49
6

Technically, it's part of a group of marks termed "diacritics". That one is an acute diacritic.

More simply, they're called "accent marks" or simply "accents".

Diacritic is primarily an adjective, though sometimes used as a noun, whereas diacritical is only ever an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute ( ´ ) and grave ( ` ), are often called accents. Diacritical marks may appear above or below a letter, or in some other position such as within the letter or between two letters.

Improve this answer
0
5

The mark above the e is known as an "acute accent", in contrast to the "grave accent" which is the accent sloped the other way as in è.

On a Windows computer, you can hold the Alt key, type 130 on the number pad press 130, then release Alt to type é. http://www.alt-codes.net/ lists other characters you type in this method as well.

On a Macintosh computer, you can type Option+e to create the acute accent, then type e to attach that character to the accent. The same process works for other vowels. Alternatively, you can press and hold e to see a list of available accented es.

Improve this answer
7
  • 2
    This doesn't help unless the OP is using the same system as you are. For example, on a Mac, all you need to do is press and hold the letter and the OS will let you pick from any of the accents available for that letter. Regardless, the question is not "how do I type this", it's "what is this called". "How do I type this" is actually off topic here. – Catija♦ Jul 13 '16 at 19:49
  • 1
    I answered the question of "what is this called", and I went a step further with information to the original question of "how do i type this". Further, the question states computer keyboard, but makes no mention of mac. @Catija You should read the answer fully before commenting. – gattsbr Jul 13 '16 at 19:52
  • 1
    You should put the actual answer first rather than last. Also, the terms you used are the French terms, not the English ones. – Catija♦ Jul 13 '16 at 19:55
  • 1
    @Catija From French words, cliché, blasé, these are also both French words. The name of the sign over both of these, is accent aigu. Furthermore, a google search for the term accent aigu will bring someone to the information on how to type it much quicker than a google search for the term diacritic – gattsbr Jul 13 '16 at 20:09
  • 1
    @duskwuff, yes, that's noted based on the answer. Was just interested on the fact that it is specifically used for the French letter 'e'. I did check some online articles after reading the previous version of this answer, re: question examples: cliché and blasé. – shin Jul 14 '16 at 4:59

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.