# To emphasize



## ThomasK

I think 'to emphasize' is quite an abstract word. I wonder how you translate it in your language... 

'Accentueren' is possible in Dutch, and I now learn that it has do with singing: 'ad' + 'chant', apparently meaning: [speech] added to song... It is supposed to be a  loan translation of Greek 'prosoidia' (pros + oidia, song), or that is what I read at etymonline.com.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:


1/ *«Τονίζω»* [to'nizo] --> _to accentuate, intone_ < Koine v. *«τονίζω» tŏnízō* --> _to furnish with an accent_ < Classical masc. noun *«τόνος» tónŏs* --> _tension, cord, string, sinew, tone, accent, sound, effort, strength_, ablaut of Classical v. *«τείνω» teínō* --> _to stretch, pull tight, expand_; intr. _to extend, range_ (PIE *ten(h₂)-, _to draw, stretch_ cf Skt. तान (tāna), _tone, fibre_).


2/ *«Υπογραμμίζω»* [ipoɣra'mizo] --> _to underline, outline_, Modern Greek construction (1860) in order to render the Fr. _souligner_ < Classical masc. noun *«ὑπογραμμός» hŭpŏgrāmmós* --> _writing-copy, pattern, model, outline_ < compound; prefix, preposition, and adv. *«ὑπό» hūpó* --> _under, underneath, below, down (to), by, because of_ (PIE *upo-, _below, under_ cf Skt. उप (upa), _above, below_; Lat. sub) + Classical fem. *«γραμμὴ» grāmmḕ* --> _line_ < Classical v. *«γράφω» grápʰō* --> _to scratch, write_ (PIE *gerbʰ-, _to scratch, carve_ cf Proto-Germanic *kerbaną > Ger. kerben, Eng. carve, Dt. kerven; OCS жрѣбъ, _dice_). 


3/ *«Δίδω έμφαση»* (learned expression) ['ðiðo 'emfasi] --> _to give emphasis, emphasize_; relic of the Katharevousa expression *«δίδω ἔμφασιν»* ['ðiðo 'emfasin]: Katharevousa v. *«δίδω»* ['ðiðo] --> _to give_ < Classical v. *«δίδωμι» dídōmĭ* --> _to give_ (PIE *deh₃-, _to give_ cf Skt. ददाति (dadāti), _to give_; Latin dare, _to give, offer, render_); Katharevousa fem. noun *«ἔμφασις»* ['emfasis] --> _emphasis_ < Classical 3rd declension fem. noun *«ἔμφασις» émpʰāsīs* --> _outward appearance, impression, presentation, exposition, narration, indication, suggestion, hint_ < compound; prefix, preposition, and adv. *«ἔν» én* --> _in, within_ (PIE *h₁n(i)-, _in_ cf Lat. in > It. in, Sp./Fr. en, Por. em, Rom. în; Proto-Germanic *in > Ger./Eng./Dt. in, Isl. í, D./Swe./Nor. i) + Classical v. *«φαίνω» pʰaínō* --> _to make known, clear to the ear, reveal, disclose, come to light, appear_ (PIE *bʰeh₂-, _to shine, light_ cf Skt. भाति (bhāti), _to shine, appear as_; Arm. բանալ (banal), _to reveal_). 


All three can be used interchangeably; (3) is formal language.


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## Encolpius

*Hungarian*: hangsúlyoz [hang- voice, súly weight -oz suffix to make a verb]


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## ThomasK

I did not mention the 'very Dutch' "*beklemtonen*", meaning + to put on [prefix _be_-] + a tone [_toon_] + allowing to (...) grip/ get a grip on [_klemmen_, reminding me of 'clamp'...]. 

I looked up 'stress' at etymonline.com (my it*alic*s, TK): 





> c.1300, "to subject (someone) to force or compulsion," from Middle French _estrecier_, from Vulgar Latin *_strictiare_, from Latin _stringere _"*draw tight*," which also is the source of stress (n.). The figurative meaning _*"put emphasis on" is first recorded 1896*_, from notion of laying pressure on something by relying on it. Related: Stressed; stressing.


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## rusita preciosa

Russian:

Подчеркнуть /podtcherknut'/ - underline
Акцентировать /aktsentiovat'/- accentuate
Выделить /vydelit'/- lit., out-divide / out-partition


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## Peterdg

Thomas,

You forget "benadrukken" in Dutch.


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## ThomasK

You're right, Peter, thanks: *be-na-drukken*, put on-after/ intense (?) - pressure !


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## marrish

_زور دینا zor denaa_ - to give (put) strength, force (on something), to put stress (on something). (Urdu) This usage predates the English "to stress" as "to put emphasis on".


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## arielipi

Hebrew:
להדגיש lehadgish


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## AutumnOwl

*Swedish:*
_Understryka_ - to underline
_Betona_ - to stress; to accent
_Poängtera_ - to point out
_Lägga tonvikt på_ - to put stress upon
_Framhålla_ - to hold forward
_Lyfta fram_ - to lift forward
_Ge eftertryck åt _- to give press upon


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## ThomasK

@ arielipi: I tried to analyse using Googled Translate, and I found stress indeed, but in it there is a word like 'echo' so it seems (להד). Coincidence?
@AutumnOwl: I recognize _strike, tone, tone_-vikt (???) , but could  you find a link between _fram _(front ???) and _eftertryck _and English words?


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## arielipi

ThomasK said:


> @ arielipi: I tried to analyse using Googled Translate, and I found stress indeed, but in it there is a word like 'echo' so it seems (להד). Coincidence?


it is, and the לה isnt part of the root, it is part of the shem peula.
other words for emphasize:
להבליט lehavlit is also for to stick out
להטעים lehat'im is also for taste and such related things. also for punctuation.


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## ThomasK

arielipi said:


> it is, and the לה isnt part of the root, it is part of the shem peula.
> 
> Other words for _emphasize_:
> להבליט lehavlit is also for to stick out
> להטעים lehat'im is also for taste and such related things. also for punctuation.



I am sorry but I'd need some explanation: 
- "Part of the shem Peula" ??? Do you mean "the stem _Peula_"? 
_ - "leha*vlit *_is also for 'to stick out'" ; do you mean that 'to stick out' is the literal meaning? What is the _vlit _? 
- " l_eha*t'im *_is also for 'taste'": does that have to do with _t'im_ ??? What is the link between 'emphasize' and 'taste'?


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## arielipi

ThomasK said:


> I am sorry but I'd need some explanation:
> - "Part of the shem Peula" ??? Do you mean "the stem _Peula_"?
> _ - "leha*vlit *_is also for 'to stick out'" ; do you mean that 'to stick out' is the literal meaning? What is the _vlit _?
> - " l_eha*t'im *_is also for 'taste'": does that have to do with _t'im_ ??? What is the link between 'emphasize' and 'taste'?


sorry, not shem peula, shem po'al - infinitive construct.
להבליט root ב-ל-ט in infinitive construct form, the root is used for things like to protrude, to stick up, to stick out ; to be prominent, to obtrude
if by t'im you mean the root ט-ע-מ then my guess is yes though i couldnt find a source if the roots are of the same origin; assuming they are, in hebrew if something has a point it has a taste, and if its pointless its tasteless, so pointing (stressing) something can be viewed as tasting it.


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## ThomasK

That seems quite interesting, thanks a lot !


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## Peterdg

Thomas, 

Another one I just thought of in Dutch: "beklemtonen".


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## ThomasK

Of course, I had thought of that too and had written something about the word, but it has not been published to seems to me: *klem *[hold, pinch, clamp?] +*toon = accent; be-klemtoon-en = *to put on [=*be-*] *klemtoon*/ emphasis...


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## ger4

German:

to stress: betonen 
to underline: unterstreichen
to accentuate: akzentuieren


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## ger4

ThomasK said:


> *be-na-drukken*, put on-after/ intense (?) - pressure !





AutumnOwl said:


> _Ge eftertryck åt _- to give press upon


I forgot to mention the German expressions 
-_ Nach__druck_ ('emphasis')
- _nach__drück__lich_ ('emphatic') 
- _Nach__druck__ legen auf_ ('to lay stress upon').

Edit: a literal translation would be something like 'after-pressure'. I'm not sure what this 'after' symbolizes, perhaps something like 'additional' (or an intensifier, as ThomasK suggested).


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## 810senior

Japanese:
強調する_Kyouchou-suru_ (強:strengthen, 調:wave, chant, tone) lit. to strengthen-the-tone.


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## Nawaq

In *French* I think, _souligner_, _accentuer, signaler _(maybe)


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## projectsemitic

*Amharic- to emphasize*
ማጉላት-maggulat
ማጋነን-magganän (although this would be used more for 'to exaggerate' not 'to emphasize')


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## SuperXW

Chinese:
強調 (traditional)
强调 (simplified)
qiang2 diao4
Japanese uses the same one.


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## Gavril

Icelandic:

_*leggja áherslu á*_ "emphasize", literally "to lay emphasis onto (something)"; _áhersla_ "emphasis" is composed of the prefix _á_- "on" + _herð_- "to harden" + -_sla_ (nominalizing suffix)

Another term is _*undirstrika*_, literally "to underline", composed of _undir_- "under" + _strik_ "line, stroke"

--

Armenian:

*ընդգծել* (_əndgətsél_) "emphasize, underline" < ընդ- (_ənd_-) "under, to" + գծել (_gətsél_) "draw (a line, picture or similar)"

*շեշտել* (_šeštél_) "emphasize, stress" < շեշտ "stress, accent (on a word)"


(Neither of these is my 1st language, but I decided to mention their translations of _emphasize_/_emphasis_ because their speakers rarely post here.)


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## ilocas2

Croatian, Serbian:

*naglasiti*
(root _glas_ - voice)


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## ThomasK

Encolpius said:


> *Hungarian*: hangsúlyoz [hang- voice, súly weight -oz suffix to make a verb]


What is this association? A weighty voice over a word? Does this '"hang" refer to something like a human voice, or is it broader?


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## 810senior

It seems to look like one in Japanese to some extent c.f. to weigh-voice and to strengthen-tone.


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## ThomasK

projectsemitic said:


> *Amharic- to emphasize*
> ማጉላት-maggulat
> ማጋነን-magganän (although this would be used more for 'to exaggerate' not 'to emphasize')


Could you comment on the root magg- please? I suppose it is a kind of metaphor...


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## projectsemitic

ThomasK said:


> Could you comment on the root magg- please? I suppose it is a kind of metaphor...



መ and ማ (mä and ma) are not part of the root. They simply mean 'to' in the infinitive form of a verb. መስማት (mäsmat) for example means 'to listen'. 
The root for  ማጉላት-maggulat would be G-N-N from the third person singular (male) አጋነነ (aganänä).


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## ThomasK

I am sorry, I was too quick. But would you be able to comment on that G-N-N root? Google T refers to "exaggerate" (but of course that means near to nothing)...


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## 123xyz

Macedonian:

*нагласува/нагласи* - accentuate, stress, emphasize; lit. on-sound/voice
*истакнува/истакне* - highlight, emphasize; I don't know the etymology here, but the prefix "ис-" means "out"; the reflexive form means "to stand out, be conspicuous/prominent"
*потцртува/потцрта* - underline, underscore, emphasize; lit. under-draw
*потенцира *(formal and not very stylistically desirable) - highlight, emphasize; ultimately from Latin "potēns"


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## spindlemoss

Welsh: *pwysleisio

pwys *(weight, pressure) + *llais* (voice) + *-io* (verbnoun ending)


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