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

The cases, however, when the division cannot be made to come on either the syllable bearing the primary accent or one bearing a secondary accent will be comparatively few.

From Division of Words Rules for the Division of Words at the Ends of Lines, with Remarks on Spelling, Syllabication and Pronunciation by Hamilton, Frederick W. (Frederick William)

How close can primary and secondary accent come together?

From 1001 Questions and Answers on Orthography and Reading by Hathaway, B. A.

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

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

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