(when contrasted with low ⟨ˍ⟩ or mid ⟨˗⟩) a high level tone.
(poetry)Used to mark a long/stressed syllable in a metrical foot or verse: e.g. ⟨˘ˉ⟩iamb, ⟨ˉ˘⟩trochee, ⟨ˉˉ⟩spondee. Also placed over vowel letters: see ⟨◌̄⟩.
Usage notes
(obsolete IPA): The mark is placed before the word or syllable that bears the tone. This use of the symbol has effectively been replaced by Chao tone letters and tone diacritics.