The tilde is a mark represented by the symbol ~. It is primarily used over letters like 'n' in Spanish words such as "señor" to create a "ny" sound. The tilde can also be placed over vowels in Portuguese, like in "irmã," to signify a nasal sound. When used on its own, the tilde commonly means "approximately," as in "around 30 minutes." The capital city of Brazil, São Paulo, provides a familiar example of its use. Californian vital records are changing to accommodate names with tildes and other diacritical marks. Words like "piña colada" and "La Niña" are Spanish loanwords that use the tilde over the 'n' to indicate a combined 'n' and 'y' sound. The word "tilde" originates from the Latin word "titulus," meaning "title" or "inscription." In Spanish, the tilde most often refers to an accent symbol, while the letter 'ñ' is treated as a distinct alphabet character. English speakers, however, specifically use the tilde character for the wavy mark. Beyond its role as a diacritic for pronunciation, the tilde can independently signify approximation, negation in logic, or similarity in mathematics.