ac·cent
(ăḱsĕnt́)
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin accentus, accentuation, ad-, ad-, + cantus, song (from canere, to sing; see kan-).]
noun
- The relative prominence of a particular syllable of a word by greater intensity or by variation or modulation of pitch or tone.
- Vocal prominence or emphasis given to a particular syllable, word, or phrase.
- A characteristic pronunciation, especially:
- One determined by the regional or social background of the speaker.
- One determined by the phonetic habits of the speaker's native language carried over to his or her use of another language.
- A mark or symbol used in the printing and writing of certain languages to indicate the vocal quality to be given to a particular letter: an acute accent.
- A mark or symbol used in printing and writing to indicate the stressed syllables of a spoken word.
- Rhythmically significant stress in a line of verse.
- Music
- Emphasis or prominence given to a note or chord, as by an increase in volume or extended duration.
- A mark representing this.
- Mathematics
- A mark used as a superscript to distinguish among variables represented by the same symbol.
- A mark used as a superscript to indicate the first derivative of a variable.
- A mark or one of several marks used as a superscript to indicate a unit, such as feet (′) and inches (″) in linear measurement.
- A distinctive feature or quality, such as a feature that accentuates, contrasts with, or complements a decorative style.
- Something that accentuates or contrasts something else, as a touch of color that makes the features of an image stand out.
- Particular importance or interest; emphasis: The accent is on comfort. See synonyms at emphasis
transitive verb: -cent·ed, -cent·ing, -cents.
- To stress or emphasize the pronunciation of.
- To mark with a printed accent.
- To focus attention on; accentuate: a program that accents leadership development.
