Added 9 October 2026
accent
/ˈak.sənt/ noun
Latin root: accentus Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about accent at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
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.
In the word "careful", the accent is placed on the first syllable.
-
Emphasis or importance in general.
At this hotel, the accent is on luxury.
- A mark used in writing, in order to indicate the place of the spoken stress.
verb
- To express the accent of vocally; to utter with accent.
- To mark emphatically; to emphasize; to accentuate; to make prominent.
- To mark with written accents.
Origin
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”), from ad- + canō (“to sing”). The word accent had been borrowed into Old English already, but was lost and reborrowed in Middle English. Displaced native Old English swēġ.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)