A circumflex is a diacritical mark (^) used in various languages to indicate a specific pronunciation or stress on a vowel. It often signifies a change in vowel quality, such as lengthening or a shift in tone. In languages like French, the circumflex appears over vowels like â, ê, î, ô, and û, altering their pronunciation and sometimes indicating a historical change in the word. In addition to its linguistic use, the circumflex is also found in mathematics and computer science, where it can represent exponentiation or be used as a symbol in programming languages. Its versatility makes it an important character in both written language and technical fields.