That syllable in a word which is uttered more forcibly than the others, is
said to be accented, and is marked thus, ('); as the italicized syllables
in the following words:
morn'ing. pos'si-ble.
ty'rant. re-cum'bent.
pro-cure'. ex-or'bi-tant,
de-bate'. com-pre-hen'sive.
Common usage alone determines upon what syllable the accent should be
placed, and to the lexicographer it belongs, to ascertain and record its
decision on this point.
In some few cases, we can trace the reasons for common usage in this
respect. In words which are used as different parts of speech, or which
have different meanings, the distinction is sometimes denoted by changing
the accent.