# accent

Pronunciation: US say "AK-sent" /ˈæk.sɛnt/; UK say "AK-suhnt" /ˈak.sənt/

## Noun

1. A distinctive way of pronouncing a language, or of producing a sign language, associated with a region, social group, or a person's first language.
   - Simple: The way a person speaks a language that shows where they come from or what their first language is.
   - _A hint of a German accent survived forty years in Ohio._
   - _Newsreaders were once trained out of their regional accents._
2. A decorative detail that adds emphasis or contrast to a design or composition, such as a small gemstone set beside a larger stone in jewelry.
   - Simple: A small detail that makes a design stand out, such as a tiny jewel next to a bigger one in a ring.
   - _Brass accents lift the otherwise plain kitchen._
   - _The painter added a single red accent to the gray canvas._
4. A mark used in writing to show where the spoken stress falls or to indicate the quality of a vowel.
   - Simple: A small mark written over a letter to show how to say it.
   - _My phone keyboard lets me hold down a letter to add the accent French words need._
   - _French uses the acute accent to mark a closed e, as in été._
5. Stronger or higher-pitched emphasis on one syllable of a word or phrase, including the stress on certain syllables in a line of verse.
   - Simple: Extra force or a higher voice on one part of a word, or on certain beats in poetry.
   - _In careful the accent falls on the first syllable._
   - _Putting the accent on the wrong syllable can make a long word hard for listeners to recognize._
6. Figuratively, emphasis or importance in general.
   - Simple: Special importance given to something.
   - _The festival returns this summer with a strong accent on local musicians and family activities._
   - _The report shifts the accent from cost to safety._
7. In music, emphasis given to a particular note or beat, including the regular stress on the first beat of a bar and the accents marking phrases.
   - Simple: In music, extra force on a note or beat, making it stand out.
   - _Jazz lives on accents placed where the ear does not expect them._
   - _The conductor asked for a stronger accent on the second beat._
8. The modulation or tone of the voice in speaking, especially as it expresses emotion.
   - Simple: The tone or feeling in someone's voice.
   - _Her voice took on a bitter accent whenever she mentioned her brother's name._
   - _His voice carried a sharp accent of impatience as the meeting ran late._
11. In music, a mark used to indicate that a note is to be given special emphasis.
   - Simple: In written music, a mark that tells you to play a note louder.
   - _The accent above the chord tells the pianist to strike it sharply._
   - _Accents in the score mark every off-beat entry._

## Verb

Pronunciation: US say "AK-sent" /ˈæk.sɛnt/; UK say "ak-SENT" /ækˈsɛnt/

3. To emphasize; to accentuate; to make prominent.
   - Simple: To make something stand out or seem more important.
   - _The lighting was designed to accent the height of the ceiling._
   - _Her reply accented the gap between promise and delivery._
9. To pronounce with a particular stress or accent.
   - Simple: To say a word with the stress on a certain part.
   - _Americans accent the second syllable of garage and the British the first._
   - _Learners often accent the wrong syllable of hotel, stressing the first instead of the second._
10. To mark with written accents.
   - Simple: To write accent marks on letters.
   - _Modern editions accent the Greek text, though the oldest manuscripts had no such marks._
   - _The editor accented the Spanish quotations by hand._

## Other meanings

- (noun) Literary: a spoken word, sound, or utterance; in the plural, words or speech in general.
- (noun) In mathematics, a prime symbol.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4–8, 11** — The Latin noun accentus, derived from accinō ("sing to, sing along"), is the source of Medieval Latin accentus and Old French accent, which together gave Middle English accent. Old English had already borrowed the word, but it died out and was taken in again in Middle English.
**Meanings 3, 9–10** — Latin accentō, formed from accentus, passed into Old French and then Middle French as accenter.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/accent (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).