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Dungarees

Apparel
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

Durable work trousers or overalls made of denim or heavy cotton, associated with manual labor and the American working class; in American verse, dungarees stand for authenticity, toil, and rural or urban grit.

Detailed Definition
Dungarees are durable garments associated with manual labor, commonly taking the form of bib overalls or work trousers. Their faded fabric records kneeling, lifting, paint, soil, and repeated washing. In verse, dungarees can honor unglamorous work and the people whose bodies keep places functioning. A loose strap or patched knee may become a sign of childhood, inheritance, poverty, ingenuity, or the stubborn dignity of making do.
Example
Example in poetry:
“In faded dungarees, the farmhand bent toward the stubborn earth”; Dungarees can evoke labor, childhood, or rural memory; “His dungarees carried a blue darkness where the rain had dried”; A poet may describe dungarees as a garment marked by honest work and repeated washing
Additional Notes
Dungarees traditionally refer to sturdy work clothing made of denim or heavy cotton; in British usage, the word often means bib-front trousers similar to overalls. In American usage, dungaree can also mean denim fabric or denim clothing generally. Context helps determine the meaning.
Also Known As
Overalls Bib-and-Brace
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