In
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
, a paroxytone (, ') is a word with stress on the
penult
''Penult'' is a linguistics term for the second-to-last syllable of a word. It is an abbreviation of ''penultimate'', which describes the next-to-last item in a series. The penult follows the antepenult and precedes the ultima. For example, the ...
imate syllable, that is, the second-to-last syllable,
such as the
English word ''potáto''.
In English, most words ending in ''-ic'' are paroxytones: ''músic'', ''frántic'', and ''phonétic'' but not ''rhétoric'', ''aríthmetic'' (noun), and ''
Árabic''.
In
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
and
Portuguese as well as
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
, most words are paroxytones. In
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
, almost all multisyllabic words are paroxytones except for certain verb conjugations and a few words of foreign origin.
In medieval Latin lyric poetry, a ''paroxytonic'' line or half-line is one in which the penultimate syllable is stressed, as in the second half of the verse "Estuans intrinsecus , , ira vehementi."
Related concepts are
proparoxytone
In linguistics, a proparoxytone (, ) is a word with stress on the antepenultimate (third to last) syllable, such as the English language, English words "cinema" and "operational". Related concepts are paroxytone (stress on the penultimate syllable) ...
(stress on the antepenultimate or third-to-last syllable) and
oxytone
In linguistics, an oxytone (; from the , ', 'sharp-sounding') is a word with the stress on the last syllable, such as the English words ''correct'' and ''reward''.
It contrasts with a paroxytone, stressed on the penultimate (second-last) syll ...
(stress on the ultimate or last syllable).
See also
*
Barytone
In Ancient Greek grammar, a barytone is a word without any accent on the last syllable. Words with an acute or circumflex on the second-to-last or third-from-last syllable are barytones, as well as words with no accent on any syllable:
*τις ...
*
Oxytone
In linguistics, an oxytone (; from the , ', 'sharp-sounding') is a word with the stress on the last syllable, such as the English words ''correct'' and ''reward''.
It contrasts with a paroxytone, stressed on the penultimate (second-last) syll ...
*
Penult
''Penult'' is a linguistics term for the second-to-last syllable of a word. It is an abbreviation of ''penultimate'', which describes the next-to-last item in a series. The penult follows the antepenult and precedes the ultima. For example, the ...
*
Perispomenon
In Ancient Greek grammar, a perispomenon ( ; ) is a word with a high-low pitch contour on the last syllable, indicated in writing by a tilde diacritic () or an inverted breve accent mark () in native transcriptions with the Greek alphabet, or ...
*
Proparoxytone
In linguistics, a proparoxytone (, ) is a word with stress on the antepenultimate (third to last) syllable, such as the English language, English words "cinema" and "operational". Related concepts are paroxytone (stress on the penultimate syllable) ...
*
Properispomenon
In Ancient Greek grammar, a perispomenon ( ; ) is a word with a high-low pitch contour on the last syllable, indicated in writing by a tilde diacritic () or an inverted breve accent mark () in native transcriptions with the Greek alphabet, or ...
*
Stress (linguistics)
In linguistics, and particularly phonology, stress or accent is the relative emphasis or prominence given to a certain syllable in a word or to a certain word in a phrase or Sentence (linguistics), sentence. That emphasis is typically caused ...
References
Phonology
Stress (linguistics)
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