emphasis definition

English emphasis definition

Etymology

From Latin emphasis, from Ancient Greek ἔμφασις (émphasis, “significance”), from ἐμφαίνω (emphaínō, “I present, I indicate”), from ἐν- (en-, “in”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “I show”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛmfəsɪs/
• IPA^(key): [ˈɛɱfəsɪs], [ˈeɱfəsɪs], [ˈɛɱfəsəs], [ˈeɱfəsəs]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

emphasis (countable and uncountable, plural emphases)

1. Special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important.

   He paused for emphasis before saying who had won.

2. Special attention or prominence given to something.

   Anglia TV's emphasis is on Norwich and district.

   put emphasis on the advantages rather than the drawbacks

3. Prominence given to a syllable or words, by raising the voice or printing in italic or underlined type.

   He used a yellow highlighter to indicate where to give emphasis in his speech.

4. (phonology) The phonetic or phonological feature that distinguishes emphatic consonants from other consonants.
5. (typography) The use of boldface, italics, or other such formatting to highlight text. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

• misshape

Latin emphasis definition

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἔμφασις (émphasis, “significance”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈem.pʰa.sis/, [ˈɛmpʰäs̠ɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈem.fa.sis/, [ˈɛmfäs̬is]

Noun

emphasis f (genitive emphasis); third declension

1. emphasis

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

References

• “emphasis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• emphasis in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette