accent

Etymology 1

From Middle English accent, from Middle French accent, from Old French acent, from Latin accentus, past participle of accinō (“sing to, sing along”). The word accent had been borrowed into Old English already, but was lost and reborrowed in Middle English.

noun

1. (linguistics) 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.
2. (figurative) Emphasis or importance in general.
   At this hotel, the accent is on luxury.
3. (orthography) A mark or character used in writing, in order to indicate the place of the spoken accent, or to indicate the nature or quality of the vowel marked.
   The name Cézanne is written with an acute accent.
4. Modulation of the voice in speaking; the manner of speaking or pronouncing; a peculiar or characteristic modification of the voice, expressing emotion; tone.
   The tender Accent of a Woman's Cry / Will pass unheard, will unregarded die; 1696, Matthew Prior, “From Celia to Damon”, in Poems on Several Occasions
   And he repeated her words with such assurance of accent, such boastful pretence of amazement, that she could not help replying with quickness … 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume I, chapter 15
5. (linguistics, sociolinguistics) The distinctive manner of pronouncing a language associated with a particular region, social group, etc., whether of a native speaker or a foreign speaker; the phonetic and phonological aspects of a dialect.
   1. (informal, sometimes proscribed) A manner of pronunciation suggesting that the speaker is from a different region; a foreign accent.
      My professor's accent is so thick that it's difficult to understand her lectures.
      She spoke with a strong accent that betrayed her southern roots.
      I was surprised to learn that he was an immigrant, as he spoke without any accent.
      They were all Middle Eastern types but spoke French without any accent. 2015-11-14, Adam Gopnik, quoting Célia, “Terror Strikes in Paris”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 2022-12-19
      Growing up in the Rhondda and having a strong accent was never a problem for me and my voice never really stood out from the crowd. 2016-06-08, Tyler Mears, “I used to hide my Valleys accent in case people thought I was less intelligent - which was completely stupid”, in WalesOnline, archived from the original on 2023-01-10
      It's really hard to get in an audition room when you have an accent. Rather than being treated as the other people, you are falling into a category of foreigners who can't really maintain the role. 2018-01-24, Lakshine Sathiyanathan, Lisa Xing, quoting Mariya Miloshevych, “Why some people try to chip away at their accent”, in CBC News, archived from the original on 2022-12-09
      Why go to the effort of writing in a character with an Indian name played by an Indian actor whose main personality trait is that he is stupid and has an accent? 2020-12-30, Christi Carras, quoting Rishi Maharaj, “'Schitt's Creek' star Rizwan Manji defends his character's Indian accent”, in Los Angeles Times, archived from the original on 2022-12-09
      But over the years, even after perfecting "accent-less" English, graduating from college, getting a job at Goldman Sachs, and becoming an American citizen, Arce still felt like she didn't belong. 2022-03-22, Elise Hu, Jinae West, Jordana Hochman, Andrea Gutierrez, “Rejecting assimilation in 'You Sound Like a White Girl'”, in NPR, archived from the original on 2022-12-09
   2. (sign languages) A distinctive manner of producing a sign language, such as someone who does not normally use a certain sign language might have when using it.
      I believe I still retain some of my hearing accent when I use American Sign Language. 2008, Jeremy Linn Brunson, The Practice and Organization of Sign Language, page 76
      Cheesesteaks, Peanut Chews, Tastykakes, oh yeah, the Liberty Bell — there's so much to love about Philadelphia, but one of the best things about the city of Brotherly Love is the accent. We're not talking about spoken English — we're talking about American Sign Language. 2015-11-05, Nina Porzucki, The World, archived from the original on 2022-12-07
6. A word; a significant tone or sound.
7. (usually plural only) Expressions in general; speech.
8. (prosody, poetry) Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse.
9. (music) A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure.
10. (music) A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure.
11. (music) A mark used to represent this special emphasis.
12. (music) The rhythmical accent, which marks phrases and sections of a period.
13. (mathematics) A prime symbol.
14. Emphasis laid on a part of an artistic design or composition; an emphasized detail, in particular a detail in sharp contrast to its surroundings.
    accent color
15. A very small gemstone set into a piece of jewellery.
16. (archaic) Utterance.

Etymology 2

From Middle French accenter, from Old French accenter, from Latin accentō, from accentus.

verb

1. (transitive) To express the accent of vocally; to utter with accent.
2. (transitive) To mark emphatically; to emphasize; to accentuate; to make prominent.
3. (transitive) To mark with written accents.