accent English · revision 7397

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1398|origins=la accentus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈæk.sɛnt/; /ˈak.sənt/, /-sɛnt/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|accent]], Old French acent,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and directly [[bor|la|accentus|t=song added to speech; tone, intensity]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|ad|t=to]] and [[m|la|cantus|t=a singing]], from [[m|la|cano|alt=canere|t=to sing]] (see [[chant]]).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The Latin is a loan-translation of Greek [[m|grc|προσῳδία|tr=prosōidía|t=a song sung to music; intonation]], which described the pitch scheme of Greek verse.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A particular mode of pronunciation, intonation: before 1398, in Trevisa;^(Barnhart 1988) the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Hoad says the word was rare before the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Word Origins notes that the ancient Greeks distinguished syllables by musical pitch rather than stress.^(Cresswell 2021) The prominence given to one syllable, in pitch or stress, is from the 1580s (1581).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A mark used in writing to show accent is by the 1590s (1596).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The mode of speech peculiar to a person, region or nation is from 1600.^(OED 1989) The way something is said, tone of voice, is from 1538.^(OED 1989) The verb, to pronounce with stress, is from the 1520s.^(Etymonline) The decorative-arts sense, something that highlights, is from 1972.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1398 – intonation.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1520s – to stress (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1581 – stress on a syllable.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1596 – an accent mark.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1600 – a regional accent.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1972 – a decorative highlight.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A distinctive way of pronouncing a language, associated with a country, region or social class.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Emphasis given to a syllable or word by stress or pitch.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A mark on a letter showing pronunciation, such as an acute or grave accent.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Particular emphasis: ''an accent on quality''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' Emphasis on a particular note.^(Collins 2023)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To emphasize; to [[accentuate]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[accentless]]

+ * [[accentor]]

+ * [[nonaccent]]

+ * [[reaccent]]

+ * [[accent mark]]

+ * [[acute accent]]

+ * [[primary accent]]

+ * [[secondary accent]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[accentuate]]

+ * [[chant]]

+ * [[cantor]]

+ * [[prosody]]

+ * [[incantation]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}