⠤
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Translingual
The diacritic for the 3rd decade of the braille script, now sorted as the 56th character
Etymology
Invented by Louis Braille, braille cells were arranged in numerical order and assigned to letters of the French alphabet. Most braille alphabets follow this assignment for the 26 letters of the basic Latin alphabet, or for the equivalents of those letters in a non-Latin script.
The first ten braille letters are ⠁⠃⠉⠙⠑⠋⠛⠓⠊⠚, usually assigned to the Latin letters a–j. The next ten repeat that pattern with the addition of a dot at the lower left, the third ten with two dots on the bottom, and the fourth with a dot on the bottom right. The fifth decade is like the first, but shifted downward. Many languages which use braille letters beyond the basic 26 for simple letters in their script follow an approximation of the English values for the additional letters.
Usage notes
When words or letters are replaced by ————— or -- in print, in braille ⠤⠤⠤⠤⠤⠤⠤⠤ is used, with one ⠤ for every letter.
Symbol
⠤
- (English Braille) Sets off a change in capitalization or emphasis within a word.
- (English Braille) Marks the end of a metrical foot.
Usage notes
Compare the termination sign ⠠⠄, which is used in hyphenated words.
Metrical use abolished in Unified English Braille.
Derived terms
Letter
⠤
- (Vietnamese Braille) tone ◌̃
Usage notes
Unlike other English Braille prefixes, ⠤ can also stand for the sequence com-, as long as in occurs at the beginning of a word, such as come or comb. However, it cannot come in contact with a hyphen or apostrophe.
Abolished in Unified English Braille.