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Carnation

Flora
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 flowering plant with ruffled, fragrant blooms in various colors, each shade carrying different symbolic meanings.

Detailed Definition
Carnations appear throughout poetry with varied symbolism based on color: pink for maternal love, red for admiration, white for pure love. Their spicy fragrance and long-lasting blooms make them represent endurance and devotion. In Renaissance poetry, carnations symbolize betrothal and marriage. The flower's ruffled petals suggest complexity and layered meaning. Modern poets may subvert carnation's traditional associations or embrace them ironically, as the flower occupies both formal bouquets and roadside bouquets, bridging elegant and common contexts.
Example
Example in poetry:
Carnations' spicy fragrance and ruffled petals appear throughout poetry celebrating complex beauty and layered emotion; Red carnations symbolize deep love and admiration, making them central to romantic and devotional verse; Pink carnations representing a mother's love feature prominently in poems about maternal bonds and Mother's Day; White carnations signify pure love or serve as memorial flowers in elegiac poetry; The carnation's use as a boutonniere connects it to poems about formal occasions and masculine elegance; Striped carnations add visual interest and symbolize refusal or regret in flower language poetry
Additional Notes
Carnation has rich symbolic history, from love and fascination to political emblems. Its ruffled petals and clove-like scent add sensory depth. In poetry it may appear in formal bouquets or as a token of affection with nuanced colour meaning.
Also Known As
Clove Pink Dianthus
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