accent

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the way someone pronounces words, showing where they come from

   She speaks English with a strong French accent.

2. 2
   noun

   extra force given to a particular syllable or word when speaking

   In "careful", the accent falls on the first syllable.

3. 3
   noun

   a mark added to a letter to show how it is pronounced

   The name Cézanne is written with an accent over the e.

4. 4
   verb

   to give extra force or emphasis to something

   The speaker accented the most important word in the sentence.

Inherited 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.

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