Etymograph

English

accentuate

Accentuate comes from Medieval Latin accentuātus.

  1. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500accentuātus1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1898accentuate1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English accentuate
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1898, H. G. Wells: “our danger and insolation only accentuated the incompatibility”.

Lineage

  1. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500accentuātusWiktionary, English accentuate
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1898accentuateWiktionary, English accentuate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1898, H. G. Wells: “our danger and insolation only accentuated the incompatibility”

Formed from accent + -u- + -ate

Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- ‘to sing’

…

Medieval Latin accentus

Middle French accent

Anglo-Norman accent

Middle English accent

English accent

first attested First attested in 1731 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1731; borrowed from Medieval Latin accentuātus, perfect passive participle of accentuō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin accentus. accent + -u- + -ate.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Medieval Latin accentuātus

Today it means

verb To pronounce with an accent or vocal stress.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “accentuate”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Medieval Latin accentuātus / accentuate

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