accentuate
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What is the definition and pronunciation of “accentuate”?
It's the word of the day for july nineteenth. Today's word is accentuate, spelled A-C C E N T U A T E. Accentuate is a verb. To accentuate something is to make it more noticeable.
How does the example from *Mothers of Magic* illustrate the word’s meaning?
Here's the word used in a sentence from Mothers of Magic, summoning the wisdom of our ancestors by Perdita Finn. My mother could make me anything I wanted to be. As a child, she transformed me into a swan, a mermaid, a white Persian cat dressed like an elegant Victorian lady with a pork pie hat and a ruffled bustle to accentuate my tail. She'd trained as a costume designer. When you accentuate something, you put an accent or emphasis on it.
What is the etymology of “accentuate” and its connection to music?
Stress not about the word's history. Its journey into the English language was very straightforward. It comes from the Latin accentus, meaning accent, which itself comes from cantus meaning song. and since the early eighteenth century its meanings haven't changed very much.
How can the song “Accentuate the Positive” help remember the word?
The word was initially used as a synonym of the verb accent, to mean to pronounce with greater stress or force, which is a small leap from today's meaning of to make something more noticeable or to emphasize. One excellent way to remember not only how to pronounce accentuate, but also its etymological connection to song is the classic and helpfully titled Accentuate the Positive by Harold Darlin and Johnny Mercer, which has been performed by such luminaries as Dinah Washington, Sam Cook, and Bing Crosby, and the Andrews Sisters.
With
your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski. Visit MarionWebster dot com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the definition and pronunciation of “accentuate”?
0:06–0:24
2
How does the example from *Mothers of Magic* illustrate the word’s meaning?
0:24–0:56
3
What is the etymology of “accentuate” and its connection to music?
0:56–1:15
4
How can the song “Accentuate the Positive” help remember the word?
1:15–2:03