Dictionary.com

tonic accent

noun

prominence given to a syllable in speaking, usually due to a change, especially a rise, in pitch.

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You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.
To stew in a sauce for a long time.
To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.
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Origin of tonic accent

First recorded in 1865–70

Words nearby tonic accent

tonguing, tonguing-and-grooving plane, Toni, -tonia, tonic, tonic accent, tonic-clonic, tonic contraction, tonic convulsion, tonic epilepsy, tonicity
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for tonic accent

tonic accent

noun

emphasis imparted to a note by virtue of its having a higher pitch, rather than greater stress or long duration relative to other notes
another term for pitch accent
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012