Precomposed character is a Unicode entity that can be decomposed into a canonically equivalent string of several other characters. Typically, a precomposed character is decomposed into to the main character and a combining diacritical mark.
Syn: decomposable character
On most computer systems with incomplete Unicode support, the precomposed characters are easier to handle, and also they look better on displays and in print.
See Table of Unicode precomposed characters
See also: canonical equivalence, canonical decomposition