the diacritical mark (´), used in the writing system of some languages to indicate that the vowel over which it is placed has a special quality (as in French été) or that it receives the strongest stress in the word (as in Spanish hablé)
acute accent in American English
a mark (´) used to indicate
a.
the quality or length of a vowel, as in French idée
b.
primary stress, as in Spanish olé
c.
any stress on a spoken sound or syllable, as in the scanning of verse