guillemet

US /ˈɡiːjəmeɪ/ UK /ˈɡiːjəmeɪ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an angle-shaped quotation mark («» or ‹›) used in several European languages

French typography uses guillemets instead of the English double quotes.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an angle-shaped quotation... chevronquotation mark

Etymology

From French guillemet, a diminutive of the given name Guillaume ('William'), traditionally said to honor the printer Guillaume Le Bé, who is credited with introducing the marks in the 16th century.

guillemet Middle French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# guillemet

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡiːjəmeɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡiːjəmeɪ/

## Meanings
1. an angle-shaped quotation mark («» or ‹›) used in several European languages

## Examples
- French typography uses guillemets instead of the English double quotes.

## Synonyms
- chevron
- quotation mark

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: guillemet

## Etymology
From French guillemet, a diminutive of the given name Guillaume ('William'), traditionally said to honor the printer Guillaume Le Bé, who is credited with introducing the marks in the 16th century.

## AI Etymology
Guillemet comes from French guillemet, a diminutive of the given name Guillaume ('William'), traditionally said to honor the printer Guillaume Le Bé, who is credited with introducing the marks in the 16th century. The historical trail runs through Middle French guillemet. In modern use it means an angle-shaped quotation mark («» or ‹›) used in several European languages.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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