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Cusp

Architecture
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 cusp is a pointed curve formed where two arcs meet, especially in Gothic tracery. It can evoke tension, delicacy, or a sharp turn in poetic form.

Detailed Definition
In Gothic openings, cusps make a rounded pattern suddenly flower into points, giving stonework both softness and tension. A poem may borrow the image for an emotional turn where tenderness becomes fear, or where a smooth narrative catches on a precise detail. The cusp is useful for describing beauty that depends on pressure: curves brought close enough together to produce a sharp and memorable edge.
Example
Example in poetry:
The gothic window’s cusps, pointed curves within its tracery, make its stone pattern resemble a leaf or flame; “Moonlight caught in every cusp of the window” uses the term to sharpen visual detail; A poet can compare a thorn, wave crest, or bird’s wing to a cusp when emphasizing a pointed curve; In a love poem, the cusp between friendship and desire can echo the architectural sense of a meeting point shaped into a point
Additional Notes
A cusp is the pointed meeting created when two curves intersect, common in Gothic window tracery and arches. Its beauty depends on tension: softness of curve sharpened into a point. Poets may use it to describe a moment where opposing feelings meet—tenderness and fear, departure and arrival—or where a line turns suddenly. Related terms include ogee, tracery, arch, point, and inflection.
Other Meanings of “Cusp”
Also Known As
Apex Point Turning Point Threshold
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