I. ˈu̇mˌlau̇t noun
( -s )
Etymology: German, from um- around, about (from Middle High German um-, umb-, from umbe, preposition, around, about, from Old High German umbi ) + laut sound, from Middle High German lūt, akin to Old English hlūd loud — more at ember day , loud
1.
a. : the change of a vowel caused by partial assimilation to a succeeding sound ; especially : the fronting or raising of a back or low vowel (as a, o, or u ) caused by an i or j orig. standing in the following syllable but now usually lost or altered
umlaut is a striking characteristic of the Germanic languages
b. : a vowel resulting from such partial assimilation
2. : a diacritical mark ¨ placed especially over a German vowel to indicate umlaut
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to produce by umlaut
2. : to write or print an umlaut over