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The dot above “i” and “j” is called a title or tittle, dating back to the 1500s. Diacritical marks change emphasis or pronunciation and vary across languages, with some completely changing meaning.
That dot above the lowercase “i” and “j” is actually a diacritic called a title. The term “tittle” dates back to at least the 1500s and is often used in conjunction with the word “jot” in the phrase “every jot and tittle.” The word “jot” is a transliteration of the Greek word “iota”, the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet, hence the phrase “every little thing” meaning every little thing or every last detail. Incidentally, a tittle is also the name of a spot on the dice.
Learn more about diacritical marks:
A diacritical mark is any type of mark added to a letter to change its emphasis or pronunciation. Common diacritics include acute or right-leaning accent; the cedilla, which in some French words is a swirling line under the “c”; and the umlaut, or double dots that can appear above vowels.
There are more than 10 types of diacritical marks in anglicised alphabets alone, and even more in alphabets with Arabic, Greek or Asian characters.
In English, diacritics usually simply indicate pronunciation or emphasis. In some languages, a diacritic can completely change the meaning or context of the word. This is the case with the damma in Arabic or the cantillation marks in Hebrew chants.
