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# circumflex

noun (a circumflex, circumflexes); adjective (circumflex accent)

«circumflex» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (language) A small mark like a little roof (^) written over a vowel in some languages, for example French «â, ê, î, ô, û» as in «forêt» or «hôpital». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumflex/#m1)
2. (science, rare) Bending around something, used for some nerves and blood vessels. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumflex/#m2)

### In the lessons

In French lessons the circumflex often shows that an «s» used to follow the vowel: «forêt» (forest), «hôpital» (hospital), «île» (isle). In English it appears only in borrowed words like «crème brûlée» or «rôle» (old spelling). It tells the reader about a little hat-shaped accent. Phrases: «circumflex accent».

### Examples

- In French, "forêt" has a circumflex on the e. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumflex/#x1)
- The circumflex looks like a tiny roof over the letter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumflex/#x2)
- "Hôpital" has a circumflex where English has an s in "hospital". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumflex/#x3)
- We learned three French accents: acute, grave and circumflex. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumflex/#x4)
- On a keyboard you can type a circumflex with the ^ key. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumflex/#x5)
- The circumflex in "crème brûlée" sits on the u. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumflex/#x6)

### Note

Countable: circumflexes. Say «SUR-kum-flex». In maths and computing the ^ symbol on its own (called a caret) can mean «to the power of»: 2^3 = 8. English words normally do not use accents.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «circumflex» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/circumflex/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«circumflex» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/circumflex.html) on Mova free.