Accent
/ˈæk.sɛnt/noun
A distinctive way of pronouncing a language, or a mark used in writing to indicate stress or pronunciation.
Did you know?In Latin, *accentus* was tied to the rise and fall of speech like music, which is why accents and musical “accent” share the same ancient idea of stressed sound.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kan-
“to sing, resound”
Latin
Latin
accentus
“the tone or stress of the voice; a manner of speaking”
Late Latin
Latin
accentus
“speech melody, vocal stress”
Old French
Old French
accent
“manner of pronunciation; tone of voice”
Middle English
English
accente
“speech stress or pronunciation”
Modern English
English
accent
“distinctive pronunciation or written mark indicating stress or tone”
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