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

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 Gehrkens, Karl Wilson

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 Baum, Paull Franklin

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 Cody, Sherwin

The first half of each line ends in an unaccented syllabic—or, strictly speaking, in a syllable bearing a secondary accent; that is, each line has what is called a "ringing" caesura.

From The Nibelungenlied Translated into Rhymed English Verse in the Metre of the Original by Needler, George Henry

This potential stress is of the utmost importance in verse—as when Milton out of three words, two of which have no recognized secondary accent, makes a 5-stress line: Immutable, immortal, infinite.

From The Principles of English Versification by Baum, Paull Franklin