{{Short description|Diacritical mark in old Latin}} {{For|the division of some Roman units of measurement|Ancient Roman units of measurement}} {{Infobox diacritic|char=◌͗ |name=Sicilicus |unicode={{unichar|0357|COMBINING RIGHT HALF RING ABOVE|html=|cwith=&nbsp;}} }} A '''sicilicus''' was an old Latin diacritical mark, '''{{char|&nbsp;&#x0357;}}''', like a reversed C (Ɔ)<ref>Cf. John Edwin Sandys, ''A Companion to Latin Studies'', Cambridge University Press 1910, §1099, p. 743, where specific instances are provided: {{CIL|5|1361}}, {{CIL|10|3743}}, {{CIL|12|414}}.</ref> placed above a letter and evidently deriving its name from its shape like a little sickle (which is ''sicilis'' in Latin). The ancient sources say<ref>Cf. Isidore ''Etymologiae'' 1.27.29 ({{lang|la|ubi litterae consonantes geminabantur, sicilicum superponebant, ut 'cella', 'serra', 'asseres': ueteres enim non duplicabant litteras, sed supra sicilicos adponebant; qua nota admonebatur lector geminandam esse litteram}}); Nisus fr. 5 Mazzarino in Velius Longus ''de Orthographia'' Keil 7.80; Gaius Marius Victorinus ''Ars Grammatica'' 4.2 Mariotti.</ref> that during the time of the Republic it was placed above a geminate consonant to indicate that the consonant counted twice, although there is hardly any epigraphic or paleographic evidence available from such an early time. When such geminate consonants began to be represented during classical times by writing the letter twice, the ''sicilicus'' naturally fell into disuse in this function, but continued to be used to indicate the doubling of vowels as an indication of length, in the developed form of the apex.<ref>''[https://www.jstor.org/stable/292702 Apex and Sicilicus]'', Revilo P. Oliver, The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 87, No. 2. (Apr., 1966), pp. 156-58. For a counter-view see Michael Fontaine, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4433712 '' ''Sicilicissitat'' (Plautus, ''Menaechmi'' 12) and Early Geminate Writing in Latin (with an Appendix on ''Men''. 13).''] ''Mnemosyne'', Volume 59, Number 1 (2006) pp. 104-5.</ref> Fontaine suggests that Plautus alludes to the sicilicus in the prologue to ''Menaechmi''.<ref>Michael Fontaine, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4433712 '' ''Sicilicissitat'' (Plautus, ''Menaechmi'' 12) and Early Geminate Writing in Latin (with an Appendix on ''Men''. 13).''] ''Mnemosyne'', Volume 59, Number 1 (2006) pp. 95-110.</ref>

==See also== * Open O, although this is a full letter, and not a diacritic placed above a letter * Antisigma, although this is a full letter, and not a diacritic placed above a letter * Apex (diacritic), used for long vowels instead of long consonants * Apostrophe, whose shape is derived from it * Comma (punctuation), whose shape is similar * Latin spelling and pronunciation

== References == * [http://archimedes.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/toc/dict?step=entry;head=si_ci_li%5Ecus;dict=d003;inword=sicilicum;;back=http%3A%2F%2Farchimedes.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de%2Fcgi-bin%2Ftoc%2Fdict%3Fstep%3Dtable%3Bword%3D%2526longs%253Bicilicum%3Blang%3Dla Lewis and Short Latin Lexicon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719063219/http://archimedes.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/toc/dict?step=entry;head=si_ci_li%5Ecus;dict=d003;inword=sicilicum;;back=http:%2F%2Farchimedes.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de%2Fcgi-bin%2Ftoc%2Fdict%3Fstep=table%3Bword=%26longs%3Bicilicum%3Blang=la |date=2011-07-19 }}

==Notes== {{reflist}}

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Category:Latin-script diacritics Category:Palaeography