accentus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [akˈkɛn.tʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [atˈt͡ʃɛn.tus]^[1]

Forms

accentus m (genitive accentūs); fourth declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from ⟨accinō⟩ “to sing to” with the suffix -tus, from ad- and canō “to sing”; it was formed as a loan translation of Ancient Greek προσῳδία (prosōidía, “song sung to, accent”).^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot cites Quintilian, who equates it with Greek prosōidia.^[4] Köbler's first source is Gellius.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant accent, intonation, the pitch of a syllable, as in Quintilian.^[2][4] In Late Latin it also meant a blast, signal, as of trumpeters in Ammianus.^[6]

Aldhelm and other British Medieval Latin writers used it for accent, stress or intonation.^[7] Through Old French acent it gave English accent in the late 14th century, “particular mode of pronunciation”.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it.^[4][5]
• c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it.^[5]
• late 14th century – English accent is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. An accent, intonation.^[2]
2. (Late Latin) A blast, signal.^[6]

Word family

• accentiuncula

Related words

• accentor
• accinō
• canō
• English accent

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com