Accent Word Meaning

Old English (denoting a mark on a letter to indicate pitch or stress): from Latin accentus ‘intonation, mark on a letter’ (from accanere ‘to sing’, from ad- ‘to’ + canere ‘to sing’), translating Greek prosōidia ‘a song sung to music, intonation’

a distinctive way of pronouncing a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area, or social class

way of speaking

• a strong American accent
• she never mastered the French accent

a distinct emphasis given to a syllable or word in speech by stress or pitch

emphasis in speech

• the accent falls on the middle syllable

a special or particular emphasis

emphasis

• the accent is on participation

emphasize (a particular feature)

emphasize

• fabrics which accent the background colours in the room