In Old Latin a sicilicus is a diacritical mark, evidently shaped like a sickle. During the time of the Republic, it was placed above a geminate consonant to indicate that the consonant counted twice ^[1]. When such geminate consonants later began to be represented by writing the letter twice, the sicilicus fell into disuse. Plautus alludes to the sicilicus in the prologue to Menaechmi.^[2] Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... A diacritic mark or accent mark is an additional mark added to a basic letter. ... Using a sickle A Adam is a curved, hand-held agricultural tool typically used for harvesting grain crops before the advent of modern harvesting machinery. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... In phonetics, gemination is when a spoken consonant is doubled, so that it is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a single consonant. ... Titus Macchius Plautus, generally referred to simply as Plautus, was a playwright of Ancient Rome. ... Menaechmi, a Latin-language play, is considered by many as Plautus greatest play. ...

Notes

1. ^ (cf. Isidore Etymologiae 1.27.29; Nisus fr. 5 Mazzarino in Velius Longus de Orthographia Keil 7.80; Gaius Marius Victorinus Ars Grammatica 4.2 Mariotti)
2. ^ Sicilicissitat (Plautus, Menaechmi 12) and Early Geminate Writing in Latin