The primary accent is on the first syllable of every word: as,
_bródʹ-her_, brother; _unʹ-cúdh_, uncouth.
Proper prefixes in verbs and participles take no primary accent; such
are _á_, _an_, _and_, _æt_, _be_, _bi_, _ed_, _far_, _ful_, _ge_,
_geord_, _in_, _mis_, _ódh_, _of_, _ofer_, _on_, _or_, _tó_, _thurh_,
_un_, _under_, _widh_, _widher_, _ymb_, _ymbe_: _an-ginʹ-nan_, begin;
_on-geánʹ_, again. The syllable after the prefix assumes the accent.
Derivatives from nouns, pronouns, or adjectives, retain their accent.
Such are all verbs in _and-_, _ed-_, _or-_, found in Anglo-Saxon poetry,
and many adverbs in _un-_, etc.
Compounds, formed of adverbs and verbs, retain their accent. Such are
these with _æfter_, _bí_, _bíg_, _efen_, _eft_, _fore_, _ford_, _from_,
_fram_, _hider_, _mid_, _midher_, _gegn_, _geán_, _gén_, _tó_, _up_,
_út_, _wel_.
The inseparable prefixes _á-_, _be-_ (_bi-_), _for-_, _ge-_, are
unaccented; as, _á-lýsʹ-ing_, redemption.
A secondary accent may fall in the tone syllable of the lighter part of a
compound or on a suffix; as, _ó-fer-cumʹ-an_, overcome.