Home › Glossary › Letter D

Dons

Historical Allusion
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

A name for the Spanish, especially Spanish gentlemen or soldiers, in older English writing.

Detailed Definition
In this poem, "Dons" refers to the Spanish enemy Drake fought against. The term is historical and literary, and modern readers may not immediately know that it means Spaniards here.
Example
Example in poetry:
“If the Dons sight Devon, I’ll quit the port o’ Heaven” (Kipling, “The Rhyme of the Three Seamen”); “The Dons” as Spanish gentlemen or Spanish forces; “The English feared the Dons’ Armada” (historical allusion); “Dons in black sailed under Castilian banners” (maritime-history context)
Additional Notes
The quoted line uses "Dons" in an old historical sense that is not obvious to many modern readers.; Found in the poem, Drake's Drum by Henry Newbolt
Also Known As
masters lords gentlemen
Skip to main content