secondary accent

American  

noun

1. a stress accent weaker than primary accent but stronger than lack of stress.

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secondary accent British  

noun

1. phonetics (in a system of transcribing utterances recognizing three levels of stress) the accent on a syllable of a word or breath group that is weaker than the primary accent but stronger than the lack of stress Compare primary accent

   in the word ``agriculture'' the secondary accent falls on the third syllable

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Etymology

Origin of secondary accent

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

secondary accent

The other syllables are either unaccented, as the first of material and the second of portion, or have a secondary accent, as the second of deliberation.

From The Principles of English Versification by Paull Franklin Baum

In compound measures the secondary accent is marked by a beat almost as strong as that given the primary accent.

From Essentials in Conducting by Karl Wilson Gehrkens

Before such an “imperfect” i or u the preceding syllable has a secondary accent, if it has not already got the main one.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

A secondary accent, or stress, is usually put upon the second member of compound and derivative nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

From Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary by C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso) Smith

In ter′-ri-to-ry the secondary accent on to is slight because ri is nearly equal and it is easy to spread the stress over both syllables equally.

From The Art Of Writing & Speaking The English Language Word-Study and Composition & Rhetoric by Sherwin Cody