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

They provide no place for the secondary accent.

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

This is not so much, however, an intensification of an already existent secondary accent, as in, for example, Shelley's The eager hours and unreluctant years.

From The Principles of English Versification by Baum, Paull Franklin

How close can primary and secondary accent come together?

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

In the latter word this secondary accent is made to lengthen the y, and so causes a double error.

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

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)