Ac"cent` (&?;), n. [F. accent, L.
accentus; ad + cantus a singing, canere to
sing. See Cant.] 1. A superior force of voice
or of articulative effort upon some particular syllable of a word or a
phrase, distinguishing it from the others.
&fist; Many English words have two accents, the primary and the
secondary; the primary being uttered with a greater stress of voice
than the secondary; as in as′pira\'b6tion, where
the chief stress is on the third syllable, and a slighter stress on the
first. Some words, as an′tiap′o-plec\'b6tic, in-
com′pre-hen′si-bil\'b6i-ty, have two secondary accents. See
Guide to Pron., t=t= 30-46.
2. A mark or character used in writing, and serving
to regulate the pronunciation; esp.: (a) a mark to indicate
the nature and place of the spoken accent; (b) a mark to
indicate the quality of sound of the vowel marked; as, the French
accents.
&fist; In the ancient Greek the acute accent (′) meant a
raised tone or pitch, the grave (`), the level tone or simply
the negation of accent, the circumflex ( ~ or ^) a tone raised and
then depressed. In works on elocution, the first is often used to denote
the rising inflection of the voice; the second, the falling inflection; and
the third (^), the compound or waving inflection. In dictionaries, spelling
books, and the like, the acute accent is used to designate the syllable
which receives the chief stress of voice.
3. Modulation of the voice in speaking; manner of
speaking or pronouncing; peculiar or characteristic modification of the
voice; tone; as, a foreign accent; a French or a German
accent. "Beguiled you in a plain accent."
Shak. "A perfect accent." Thackeray.
The tender accent of a woman's cry.
Prior.
4. A word; a significant tone; (pl.)
expressions in general; speech.
Winds! on your wings to Heaven her accents bear,
Such words as Heaven alone is fit to hear.
Dryden.
5. (Pros.) Stress laid on certain syllables
of a verse.
6. (Mus.) (a) A regularly
recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the
third part of the measure. (b) A special
emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure.
(c) The rhythmical accent, which marks phrases
and sections of a period. (d) The
expressive emphasis and shading of a passage. J. S.
Dwight.
7. (Math.) (a) A mark placed
at the right hand of a letter, and a little above it, to distinguish
magnitudes of a similar kind expressed by the same letter, but differing in
value, as y′, y″. (b) (Trigon.)
A mark at the right hand of a number, indicating minutes of a degree,
seconds, etc.; as, 12′27″, i. e., twelve minutes twenty
seven seconds. (c) (Engin.) A mark used
to denote feet and inches; as, 6′ 10″ is six feet ten
inches.
Ac*cent" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Accented; p. pr. & vb. n.
Accenting.] [OF. accenter, F. accentuer.]
1. To express the accent of (either by the voice or
by a mark); to utter or to mark with accent.
2. To mark emphatically; to emphasize.
