OXYTONIC Meaning and
Definition
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Oxytonic, also known as oxytone, is an adjective used to describe a specific type of word or linguistic unit that carries the characteristic of stress or emphasis being placed on its final syllable. It is derived from the Greek word "oxýs," meaning "sharp" or "high," and "tónos," meaning "tension" or "accent."
In phonetics and prosody, oxytonic words are often contrasted with paroxytonic words, where the stress falls on the penultimate syllable, and proparoxytonic words, where the stress is on the antepenultimate syllable. Therefore, an example of an oxytonic word is "today," with the stress naturally placed on its final syllable. Other examples include "detect," "decide," and "allow."
The term "oxytonic" is commonly used in linguistic analysis, particularly in studies of word stress and accentual patterns across different languages. This feature holds significance in languages with fixed stress patterns, such as Spanish and Japanese, where misplacement of stress can often result in changes in word meaning or pronunciation.
Furthermore, the study of oxytonic words can help scholars identify and describe the rhythmic patterns and intonation of a particular language, contributing to a better understanding of its phonetic structure.
In summary, oxytonic refers to words or linguistic units where the primary stress is placed on the final syllable. It is an important concept in phonetics and prosody, allowing for analysis of accentual patterns across languages.
Common Misspellings for OXYTONIC
- ixytonic
- kxytonic
- lxytonic
- pxytonic
- 0xytonic
- 9xytonic
- ozytonic
- ocytonic
- odytonic
- osytonic
- oxttonic
- oxgtonic
- oxhtonic
- oxutonic
- ox7tonic
- ox6tonic
- oxyronic
- oxyfonic
- oxygonic
- oxyyonic
Etymology of OXYTONIC
The word "oxytonic" is derived from the Greek word "oxútonos" (ὀξύτονος), which is a combination of "oxys" (ὀξύς), meaning "sharp" or "acute", and "tonos" (τόνος), meaning "tone" or "accent". In Greek grammar, "oxytonic" refers to a word or a syllable that carries the primary accent on the last syllable. Over time, this term has been adopted and modified in English to refer to specific patterns of accentuation in word syllables or verse.
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