Home › Glossary › Letter C

Cedar

Flora
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

An aromatic evergreen tree with durable wood, symbolizing strength, incorruptibility, and divine presence.

Detailed Definition
Cedar appears in biblical and classical poetry as a symbol of majesty, protection, and spiritual fortitude. Its resistant wood and fragrant resin evoke permanence and sacred space. Poets use it to signify unshakable faith, endurance, and the shelter of the divine.
Example
Example in poetry:
Cedar’s aromatic wood evokes eternity in biblical poetry: “The cedar of Lebanon stands unshaken”; In Native American verse, cedar purifies: “Grandmother burned cedar to clear the air of ghosts”; Its rot-resistant timber inspires legacy metaphors: “Build your name from cedar, not willow”; In eco-poetry, old-growth cedar loss mourns deep time: “No cedar left to count centuries”; Modern poets link cedar to memory: “His chest smelled of cedar and war”; In spiritual verse, cedar smoke carries prayers: “Let cedar rise where words fail.”
Additional Notes
Cedar (Cedrus spp., though often misapplied to junipers or arborvitae) symbolizes eternity, strength, and incorruptibility due to its aromatic, rot-resistant wood; biblical references (e.g., Lebanon cedar) lend it sacred weight; in elegies, cedar suggests lasting memory; note regional naming confusion—true cedars are Old World.
Also Known As
Red Cedar Eastern Redcedar Juniper (colloquially though botanically distinct) cedarwood cedarn
Skip to main content