Word Meanings - ACCENT - Book Publishers vocabulary database

Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse. A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure. A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure. The rythmical

Additional info about word: ACCENT

Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse. A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure. A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure. The rythmical accent, which marks phrases and sections of a period. The expressive emphasis and shading of a passage. J. S. Dwight. 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''. 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. A mark used to denote feet and inches; as, 6' 10'' is six feet ten inches. (more info) 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. Note: 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''tion, where the chief stress is on the third syllable, and a slighter stress on the first. Some words, as an'tiap'o-plec''tic, in-com'pre-hen'si-bil''i-ty, have two secondary accents. See Guide to Pron., tt 30-46. 2. A mark or character used in writing, and serving to regulate the pronunciation; esp.: a mark to indicate the nature and place of the spoken accent; a mark to indicate the quality of sound of the vowel marked; as, the French accents. Note: 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 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; expressions in general; speech. Winds! on your wings to Heaven her accents bear, Such words as Heaven alone is fit to hear. Dryden.

Possible synonyms: (Same meaning words of ACCENT)

• Dialect
• Provincialism
• accent
• idiom
• tongue
• language
• speech
• phraseology

Related words: (words related to ACCENT)

• SPEECHLESS
  1. Destitute or deprived of the faculty of speech. 2. Not speaking for a time; dumb; mute; silent. Speechless with wonder, and half dead with fear. Addison. -- Speech"less*ly, adv. -- Speech"less*ness, n.
• TONGUELET
  A little tongue.
• SPEECHIFYING
  The dinner and speechifying . . . at the opening of the annual season for the buckhounds. M. Arnold.
• TONGUE-SHELL
  Any species of Lingula.
• LANGUAGE
  To communicate by language; to express in language. Others were languaged in such doubtful expressions that they have a double sense. Fuller.
• SPEECHFUL
  Full of speech or words; voluble; loquacious.
• ACCENTUALITY
  The quality of being accentual.
• IDIOMORPHOUS
  Apperaing in distinct crystals; -- said of the mineral constituents of a rock. (more info) 1. Having a form of its own.
• SPEECHIFY
  To make a speech; to harangue.
• TONGUESTER
  One who uses his tongue; a talker; a story-teller; a gossip. Step by step we rose to greatness; through the tonguesters we may fall. Tennyson.
• IDIOM
  1. The syntactical or structural form peculiar to any language; the genius or cast of a language. Idiom may be employed loosely and figuratively as a synonym of language or dialect, but in its proper sense it signifies the totality of the general
• ACCENTUABLE
  Capable of being accented.
• IDIOMORPHIC
  Idiomorphous.
• DIALECTAL
  Relating to a dialect; dialectical; as, a dialectical variant.
• TONGUED
  Having a tongue. Tongued like the night crow. Donne.
• TONGUE-TIED
  1. Destitute of the power of distinct articulation; having an impediment in the speech, esp. when caused by a short frænum. 2. Unable to speak freely, from whatever cause. Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity. Shak.
• SPEECHIFICATION
  The act of speechifying.
• TONGUE-PAD
  A great talker.
• TONGUE-SHAPED
  Shaped like a tongue; specifically , linear or oblong, and fleshy, blunt at the end, and convex beneath; as, a tongue-shaped leaf.
• IDIOMUSCULAR
  Applied to a semipermanent contraction of a muscle, produced by a mechanical irritant.
• SERPENT-TONGUED
  Having a forked tongue, like a serpent.
• OVERLANGUAGED
  Employing too many words; diffuse. Lowell.
• HONEY-TONGUED
  Sweet speaking; persuasive; seductive. Shak.
• SHRILL-TONGUED
  Having a shrill voice. "When shrill-tongued Fulvia scolds." Shak.
• ADDER'S-TONGUE
  A genus of ferns , whose seeds are produced on a spike resembling a serpent's tongue. The yellow dogtooth violet. Gray.
• LONG-TONGUE
  The wryneck.
• PLEASANT-TONGUED
  Of pleasing speech.
• BROMIDIOM
  A conventional comment or saying, such as those characteristic of bromides.
• TRUMPET-TONGUED
  Having a powerful, far-reaching voice or speech.
• TWO-TONGUED
  Double-tongued; deceitful. Sandys.