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cornice

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 decorative molding or ledge along the top of a wall or building. It is a technical architectural term.

Detailed Definition
A cornice is the projecting molding that finishes the top edge of a wall, cabinet, or building. In this poem, the word belongs to the language of interior spaces, helping Browning turn the house into a detailed map of places where the beloved seems to appear and vanish.
Example
Example in poetry:
“As she brushed it, the cornice-wreath blossomed anew” turns architectural decoration into living floral imagery; Classical temples often use carved cornices to make stone seem leafy or organic; Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn” similarly animates carved art through imagined motion; A contemporary museum poem might describe dust settling on a cornice, contrasting enduring ornament with passing viewers
Additional Notes
The quoted line uses "cornice" as an architectural term, which is more specialized than everyday vocabulary.; Found in the poem, Love in a Life by Robert Browning
Other Meanings of “cornice”
Also Known As
overhang ledge eave
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