Some·times it is it al·so seen
To cla·ri·fy the way
That syl·la·bles and me·ter meet
In things we say to·day
Which ex·tends from hea·vy use
In pla·ces not so mer·ry
For proof of this phen·o·men·on
Con·sult a dic·tion·ary
From the footnote on page 219 of Word by Word by Kory Stamper (formerly a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster):
> Here is the one thing that our pronunciation editor wishes everyone knew: those dots in the headwords, like at “co·per·nic·i·um,” are not marking syllable breaks, as is evident by comparing the placement of the dots with the placement of the hyphens in the pronunciation. Those dots are called “end-of-line division dots,” and they exist solely to tell beleaguered proof-readers where, if they have to split a word between lines, they can drop a hyphen.
- Which ex·tends from hea·vy use
+ Which re·sem·bles hea·vy use
```…leak- y…```
```…A- hab…```
U+00B7 MIDDLE DOT = midpoint (in typography); Georgian comma; Greek middle dot (ano teleia) • also used as a raised decimal point or to denote multiplication; for multiplication 22C5 is preferred
U+22C5 DOT OPERATOR • preferred to 00B7 for denotation of multiplication