1. (in Greek and related languages) having the stress or accent on the penultimate syllable
Usage: linguistics; classical studies

1. a word that has the stress or accent on the penultimate syllable
Usage: linguistics; classical studies

Examples

• In ancient Greek, the word 'ánthrōpos' (human) is a paroxytone because the accent falls on the second-to-last syllable.
• Many Greek nouns are paroxytones, making them useful for studying accentuation patterns.
• The teacher explained that paroxytone words follow predictable stress rules in classical Greek.
• Students learning Greek must distinguish between oxytone and paroxytone word forms.
• This paroxytone demonstrates the typical accent placement in Homeric Greek.