'diacritic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'diakritikos,' where 'dia-' meant 'through' and 'krinein' meant 'to separate.'

'diakritikos' transformed into the Latin word 'diacriticus,' and eventually became the modern English word 'diacritic.'

Initially, it meant 'to separate or distinguish,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a mark to indicate pronunciation or stress.'