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damps

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

Moist, cold air, mist, or vapor, often associated with unhealthy underground places, graveyards, caves, or melancholy landscapes.

Detailed Definition
Damps is an old or literary plural noun meaning damp, moist air or a wet, gloomy atmosphere. It survives mainly in poetry and older writing rather than everyday speech.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Through starry nights and misty damps” uses damps for chill, moisture-laden air; In older poetry, “damps” may also mean noxious vapors, especially those associated with graves or caves; “The marsh released its damps at dusk” gives the noun a physical, atmospheric force; A contemporary eco-poem might use damps to evoke wetland mist and climate-altered weather
Additional Notes
The plural noun in 'misty damps' is archaic or literary and may puzzle modern readers.; Found in the poem, The Ballad of Don Quixote by Richard
Also Known As
Moisture Humidity Dampness
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