Stressible

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to receive stress or emphasis when a syllable or word is spoken, as in linguistic analysis of pronunciation
2. Describing a syllable or word that can carry the prominence given by a stronger, louder or longer pronunciation
3. Capable of bearing vocal emphasis, a term used in phonetics for units of speech that may take primary or secondary stress

Etymology: Stressible is a plain formation: the verb "stress" with the suffix "-ible," meaning "capable of being stressed." The verb itself came into English in the 16th century, borrowed from the Old French "estresse," a shortened form of "destresse," which ultimately goes back to Latin "strictus," meaning "drawn tight" or "narrow." The original idea was of being pressed or constrained, and the sense of emphasis in speech came later, in the 17th century. The adjective follows the usual pattern for "-ible" words borrowed from Latin, where the suffix means "able to be" or "fit for." "Stressible" appears in phonetic and linguistic writing, where it describes syllables or vowels that can carry stress in speech, and it is far less common than its parent verb.