accent

English Online Dictionary. What means accent‎? What does accent mean?

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English accent, from Medieval Latin accentus and Old French accent, acent, both from Latin accentus, past participle of accinō (“sing to, sing along”). The word accent had been borrowed into Old English already, but was lost and reborrowed in Middle English.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ăkʹsənt, enPR: ăkʹsĕnt
• (Received Pronunciation, Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈak.sənt/, /-sɛnt/
• (US, Canada) enPR: ăkʹsĕnt, IPA^(key): /ˈæk.sɛnt/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈæk.sɛnt/, /-sənt/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈɛk.sent/, /-sənt/
• Rhymes: -æksɛnt

Noun

accent (countable and uncountable, plural accents)

1. (linguistics) A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to emphasize it.

   Synonym: stress

   Hyponyms: stress, stress accent, pitch, pitch accent

2. (figuratively) Emphasis or importance in general.

3. (orthography) A mark or character used in writing, in order to indicate the place of the spoken accent, or to indicate the nature or quality of the vowel marked.

5. Modulation of the voice in speaking; the manner of speaking or pronouncing; a peculiar or characteristic modification of the voice, expressing emotion; tone.
7. (linguistics, sociolinguistics) The distinctive manner of pronouncing a language associated with a particular region, social group, etc., whether of a native speaker or a foreign speaker; the phonetic and phonological aspects of a dialect.
   1. (informal, sometimes proscribed) A manner of pronunciation suggesting that the speaker is from a different region; a foreign accent.
   2. (sign languages) A distinctive manner of producing a sign language, such as someone who does not normally use a certain sign language might have when using it.
8. A word; a significant tone or sound.
9. (usually plural only) Expressions in general; speech.
10. (prosody, poetry) Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse.
11. (music) A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure.
12. (music) A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure.
13. (music) A mark used to represent this special emphasis.
14. (music) The rhythmical accent, which marks phrases and sections of a period.
15. (mathematics) A prime symbol.
16. Emphasis laid on a part of an artistic design or composition; an emphasized detail, in particular a detail in sharp contrast to its surroundings.

17. A very small gemstone set into a piece of jewellery.
18. (archaic) Utterance.

Usage notes

The word "accent" is often used specifically to refer to manners of speech that differ significantly from the local standard or one's personal speech.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• circumflex

References

• “Accent, sb.” on pages 50–51 of § 1 (A) of volume I (A–B, ed. James Augustus Henry Murray?, 1888) of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (1st ed.)
• “accent, n.” in the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed., 1989)

Etymology 2

From Middle French accenter, from Old French accenter, from Latin accentō, from accentus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ăk-sĕntʹ, IPA^(key): /ækˈsɛnt/
• (US) enPR: ăk-sĕntʹ, ăkʹsĕnt, IPA^(key): /ækˈsɛnt/, /ˈæk.sɛnt/
• Rhymes: -ɛnt, -æksɛnt

Verb

accent (third-person singular simple present accents, present participle accenting, simple past and past participle accented)

1. (transitive) To express the accent of vocally; to utter with accent.
2. (transitive) To mark emphatically; to emphasize; to accentuate; to make prominent.
3. (transitive) To mark with written accents.

Translations

References

• “Accent, v.” on page 51/3 of § 1 (A) of volume I (A–B, ed. James Augustus Henry Murray?, 1888) of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (1st ed.)
• “accent, v.” in the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed., 1989)

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin accentus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [əkˈsen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [əkˈsent]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [akˈsent]

Noun

accent m (plural accents)

1. accent
2. (phonology) stress
3. (often plural) tone, sound

Derived terms

Related terms

• accentuar

Further reading

• “accent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “accent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Etymology 1

From French accent, from Latin accentus, a calque of Ancient Greek προσῳδία (prosōidía, “prosody, accent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɑɡ̊ˈsɑŋ]

Noun

accent c (singular definite accenten, plural indefinite accenter)

1. accent (a voice influenced by dialect or another language)
2. accent (a mark on a letter (like grave or acute))

Inflection

Etymology 2

From Latin accentus, a calque of Ancient Greek προσῳδία (prosōidía, “prosody, accent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɑɡ̊ˈsɛnˀd̥]

Noun

accent c (singular definite accenten, plural indefinite accenter)

1. (linguistics) accent (stress or a pitch in articulation)
2. accent (emphasis)
3. accent (a mark on a letter (like grave or acute))

Inflection

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch accent, ultimately from Latin accentus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑkˈsɛnt/
• Hyphenation: ac‧cent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Noun

accent n (plural accenten, diminutive accentje n)

1. (linguistics) accent (distinctive pronunciation of a language; phonetic and phonological aspects of a lect)
2. a notably deviant or disprivileged pronunciation of a language
3. (linguistics) accent (contrasting articulation to express emphasis)
4. (orthography) accent (symbol to indicate spoken accent or the nature of a vowel)

   Synonym: accentteken

5. (music) accent (stress or emphasis)
6. (music) a mark that indicates musical accent

   Synonym: accentteken

Derived terms

• accentteken

Related terms

• accentueren
• nadrukteken

Descendants

• Afrikaans: aksent
• → Indonesian: aksen
• → Papiamentu: aksènt

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French accent, from Old French acent, accent, borrowed from Latin accentus (“accent, tone, accentuation”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ak.sɑ̃/

Noun

accent m (plural accents)

1. accent, manner or tone of speech

   Elle parle anglais avec un fort accent français. ― She speaks English with a strong French accent.

2. (linguistics) an accent symbol

   Hyponyms: accent aigu, accent circonflexe, accent grave

3. (linguistics) accent, stress
4. (music) strain, section
5. emphasis, focus

   L’accent est mis sur les quantités plutôt que sur les qualités. ― Emphasis is placed on the quantities rather than the qualities.

Derived terms

• mettre l’accent sur

Descendants

• → Norwegian Bokmål: accent
• → Turkish: aksan

Further reading

• “accent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norman

Etymology

From Old French acent, from Latin accentus, from ad + cantus (“song”).

Noun

accent m (plural accents)

1. (linguistics) accent, stress

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From French accent (“accent, manner or tone of speech”), from Middle French accent, from Old French acent, from Latin accentus (“accent, tone, accentuation”), past participle of accinō (“sing to, sing along”), from both ad- (“to”), from ad (“to, towards”), from Proto-Italic *ad (“toward, to, on, up to, for”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“to, at”) + and from canō (“I sing, recite, play”), from Proto-Italic *kanō (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- (“to sing”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /akˈsaŋ/
• Rhymes: -aŋ
• Hyphenation: ac‧cent
• Homophone: aksent

Noun

accent

1. Alternative spelling of aksent (“accent”)
2. Only used in accent aigu (“acute accent”)
3. Only used in accent circonflexe (“circumflex”)
4. Only used in accent grave (“grave accent”)

References

• “accent” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Old English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin accentus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑk.kent/

Noun

accent m

1. accent
2. diacritic

Declension

References

• John R. Clark Hall (1916) “accent”, in A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[7], 2nd edition, New York: Macmillan
• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “accent”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pali

Alternative forms

Adjective

accent

1. present active participle of acceti

Declension

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French accent.

Pronunciation

Noun

accent n (plural accente)

1. emphasis
2. accent

Declension

Scots

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /akˈsɛnt/, /aˈsɛnt/

Noun

accent (plural accents)

1. accent

References

• Eagle, Andy, editor (2024), “accent”, in The Online Scots Dictionary‎^[8]

Swedish

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin accentus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /akːˈsɛnːt/, /akːˈsaŋː/

Noun

accent c

1. an accent, an emphasis, a stress (in articulation)
2. an accent, a mark on a letter (grave or acute)
3. an accent, a voice influenced by dialect or another language

Declension