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

After the team selects dominant and secondary accent colors, each player can choose only from cleats that have been previously approved by the league.

From New York Times

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

From Project Gutenberg

In illustration he gives the word ponderous, where the first syllable has the chief accent, the last a secondary accent, the second no accent; while in the verse "Most ponderous and substantial things" the second syllable is suppressed or silent.

From Project Gutenberg

In the second foot one can and should give the syllable dis- full syllabic time, instead of hurrying over it as in prose speech,—a rendering made easy by the fact that it frequently has a marked secondary accent.

From Project Gutenberg

They provide no place for the secondary accent.

From Project Gutenberg