> It's unused in English and therefore doesn't really have a name No, it definitely has a name. Tilde. Heck, it's even the name used for the ~ symbol in Unicod

> It's unused in English and therefore doesn't really have a name No, it definitely has a name. Tilde. Heck, it's even the name used for the ~ symbol in Unicode, which famously names all characters with upper-cased English words. Just because it's not used in English orthography doesn't mean that there isn't a name for it, even if it's merely a borrowing. > If you were studying Greek, you'd call it a "circumflex". I suppose I would. Somewhat off-topic, though. > Spelling it as "tilda" just reflects the fact that a reduced vowel in English may be spelled in any number of different ways (and "e" is particularly unlikely) Or, as GP explained, they just misspelt it. Responding to a later comment: > you could easily go your whole life without ever using the word That doesn't invalidate the word's existence in the language.