accentus

English

Noun

accentus (uncountable)

1. (logic) Ambiguity arising when the meaning of a sentence is changed by placing an unusual prosodic stress, or when, in a written passage, it is left unclear which word the emphasis was supposed to fall on.
2. (music) A style of church music that emphasizes spoken word.

   Coordinate term: concentus

Latin

Etymology

From accinō (“sing to”), from ad- +‎ canō (“sing”), a calque of Ancient Greek προσῳδία (prosōidía, “song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable”), from πρός (prós, “to”) +‎ ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /akˈken.tus/, [äkˈkɛn̪t̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /atˈt͡ʃen.tus/, [ätˈt͡ʃɛn̪t̪us]

Noun

accentus m (genitive accentūs); fourth declension

1. a blast, signal
2. (phonology) accent, tone, accentuation
3. (figuratively) intensity, violence

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	accentus	accentūs
Genitive	accentūs	accentuum
Dative	accentuī	accentibus
Accusative	accentum	accentūs
Ablative	accentū	accentibus
Vocative	accentus	accentūs

Derived terms

• accentus acūtus
• accentus circumflexus
• accentus gravis

Related terms

• accentor
• accinō

Descendants

• → Albanian: aksent
• → Aragonese: accento
• → Basque: azentu
• → Belarusian: акцэнт (akcent)
• → Bulgarian: акцент (akcent)
• → Catalan: accent
• → Czech: akcent
• → Danish: accent
• → Dutch: accent
• → Esperanto: akcento
• → Estonian: aktsent
• → Finnish: aksentti
• Galician: acento
• → German: Akzent
• → Hungarian: akcentus
• → Ido: acento, achento
• → Indonesian: aksen
• → Interlingua: accento
• Italian: accento
• → Lithuanian: akcentas
• → Macedonian: акцент (akcent)
• Occitan: accent
• → Old English: accent
• Old French: acent
  • Middle French: accent
    • French: accent
      • → Danish: accent
      • → Norwegian Bokmål: accent, aksent
      • → Turkish: aksan
    • → Middle English: accent
      • English: accent
        • → Japanese: アクセント (akusento)
  • Norman: accent
• → Old Irish: aiccend, aiccent
  • Irish: aiceann
  • Scottish Gaelic: aicinn
• → Old Prussian: akcēnts
• → Polish: akcent (learned)
• → Portuguese: acento
• → Romanian: accent
• → Russian: акцент (akcent)
• Sardinian: atzentu
• → Serbo-Croatian: акценат (akcenat)
• → Sicilian: accentu
• → Spanish: acento
• → Swedish: accent
• → Ukrainian: акцент (akcent)

References

• “accentus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• accentus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• accentŭs in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 15/3.
• “accentus” on page 19 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)