primary stress

American  

noun

1. primary accent.

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primary stress British  

noun

1. linguistics another term for primary accent

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Etymology

Origin of primary stress

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Cushing's syndrome occurs when a person has elevated levels of cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone, inside the body for a long time.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2024

In addition to finding that ecosystem collapses occur much sooner when there are multiple stresses, the paper also determined that they collapse faster if the primary stress is particularly powerful.

From Salon • Jul. 9, 2023

In one small study, participants who affirmed their values had “significantly lower cortisol responses to stress” compared with the control group, researchers wrote, referring to the body’s primary stress hormone.

From Washington Post • May 2, 2022

Much of the skin-psyche connection comes down to the overproduction of cortisol, the primary stress hormone, and its effect on the skin barrier.

From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2020

In Anglo-Saxon verse the combination of a primary stress, a secondary stress, and an unstressed syllable, is a recognized type.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald