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choir

Noun
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 group of singers, especially in a church. Here it points to religious singing rather than ordinary song.

Detailed Definition
A choir is a body of singers, often associated with church music. The word itself is common, but in older poetic contexts it can carry a specifically sacred or liturgical sense. Here it contrasts with the speaker’s rough, unschooled songs.
Example
Example in poetry:
“His songs are not exactly hymns; / He never learned them in the choir” contrasts formal worship with personal song; The choir lifts one vowel through the vaulted nave; A school choir rehearses courage before the concert; Online voices form a choir across distance
Additional Notes
The word in “the choir” is ordinary, but in this poem it has a specific church-music sense that some readers may pause over.; Found in the poem, Thomas of the Light Heart by Owen Seaman
Also Known As
chorus ensemble vocal assembly harmony
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