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Bellows

Household Objects
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A device that blows air into a fire. It suggests breath, revival, effort, or the tending of warmth.

Detailed Definition
Bellows are hinged bags with handles and a nozzle, squeezed to send a focused stream of air into coals. Their expanding and contracting body resembles lungs, making them useful in poems about breath, illness, desire, or speech. By reviving a fading fire, bellows can also represent patient labor, the preservation of home, and the human wish to keep warmth alive through a difficult season.
Example
Example in poetry:
The bellows inhale and exhale beside the hearth, giving the fire a creaturelike breath; A poet can compare bellows to a blacksmith’s lungs, emphasizing work, heat, and endurance; The child pumps the bellows too hard, and sparks rise like startled stars; In a winter poem, unused bellows gathering dust may suggest a home that has gone cold
Additional Notes
Bellows make air visible through its effect on flame. They work well in metaphors of encouragement, breath, anger, artistic effort, or a relationship being revived through attention.
Other Meanings of “Bellows”
Also Known As
Fireplace Bellows
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