accentului

Accentului is the genitive/dative singular form of the Romanian noun accentul, meaning “the accent.” In usage, accentului appears within noun phrases such as accentului cuvântului, “the accent of the word.” The basic noun is accentul; its plural form is acente, while the genitive/dative plural is accentelor.

In linguistics, accentul (the accent) refers to the prominence of a syllable within a word or a phrase. This prominence can be realized through greater loudness, higher pitch, longer duration, or a combination of these. In Romanian, as in many languages, the position of the accent can affect pronunciation and, in some contexts, the perceived emphasis of a word within speech. Romanian stress patterns are variable and can shift across related or borrowed forms, so reference to the accent of a word is common in descriptions of pronunciation.

Orthographically, the term accentul is sometimes used in broader discussions of diacritical marks that distinguish sounds in writing. Romanian uses several diacritics to represent distinct phonemes (for example, letters such as ă, î, â, ș, ț), which are essential for correct pronunciation and meaning. Although these marks are not accents in the mathematical or musical sense, they are a fundamental part of the written form of many words and thus relate to the broader concept of accent as a mark that clarifies sound.

Etymology: accentul derives from Latin accentus, from ad- “toward” and cantus “song.” See also accent (linguistics).