DictionaryRoot: ad-
Latin

ad-

to, toward; addition; sometimes emphasis

Forms

  • ad-
  • ac- — Used before c in Latin.
  • af- — Used before f in Latin.
  • ag- — Used before g in Latin.
  • al- — Used before l in Latin.
  • ap- — Used before p in Latin.
  • ar- — Used before r in Latin.
  • as- — Used before s in Latin.
  • at- — Used before t in Latin.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *ad, ‘to; near.’

Note

Later Latin-based spellings sometimes restored consonants that had disappeared in French.

12 / 256
noun

accent

AK-sent/ˈæksent/

A way of pronouncing words characteristic of a region or group.

Their different accents reveal distinct regional ways of pronouncing words.

Two adults from different regions, a Black woman and white man, converse face to face with distinct simple speech-wave patterns, pronunciation variation no written words.
Etymology

The pieces give the image of “song added to speech,” highlighting speech’s melodic qualities. The word came to name a distinctive way of pronouncing a language.

In context

Olly Richards1:14
when my accent gets real heavy like it is right now it that's that's sort of my natural um unguarded way of talking
9 Difficult Texas Accents You WON'T Understand

More examples

  • He recognizes the speaker's regional accent.
  • The actors practice several accents for the play.
  • She speaks fluent English with a slight Spanish accent.

Forms

accent · accents

Similar words

dialect
Includes grammar and vocabulary as well as pronunciation.
pronunciation
Describes how words are said without implying a regional pattern.