secondary accent

noun

1. a stress accent weaker than primary accent but stronger than lack of stress.

secondary accent

noun

1. See primary accent
   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

Word History and Origins

Origin of secondary accent¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

In words like semliste, otrydre, the secondary accent was stronger than at present, especially when the final -e was sounded.

From Project Gutenberg

Here sr-vic- is trisyllabic, with a secondary accent on the last syllable.

From Project Gutenberg

The rhyme of victory and eternally is not very desirable, because both the rhyming syllables bear only a secondary accent.

From Project Gutenberg

Words of more than four syllables, generally have a secondary accent on the fifth, as in t-ith-tis-chi-h-no, valley.

From Project Gutenberg

In other respects verse-members with a secondary accent obey the same laws as those with a primary accent.

From Project Gutenberg