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Dropsical

Disease
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

Affected by dropsy, an old term for fluid swelling in the body. It suggests bloating, heaviness, and unnatural fullness.

Detailed Definition
Dropsical belongs to historical medical language and refers to edema, or the accumulation of fluid that causes swelling. In poetry, it can make the body seem burdened by water, distended beyond its natural shape, and unable to move freely. The term may also be transferred to landscapes swollen with rain or rivers, creating an uneasy parallel between bodily illness and the natural world. Its archaic quality suits gothic, elegiac, and period-inflected verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The dropsical river swelled against its banks” uses the old medical adjective for fluid retention as a metaphor for floodwater; “Dropsical ankles pressed against her worn shoes” provides a concrete image of bodily illness; “A dropsical cloud sagged over the village” makes the sky appear bloated with rain; In a satire, “the dropsical purse of the lord” can suggest excessive, unhealthy accumulation
Additional Notes
An older term for edema, often found in historical writing. Its swollen imagery can contrast sharply with ideas of thirst, emptiness, or spiritual excess.
Also Known As
Hydropic Oedematous Edematous Dropsied
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