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frock

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

A long, loose outer garment, often used as a synonym for a gown or a work smock, appearing in poetry as a marker of pastoral life, childhood, or clerical simplicity.

Detailed Definition
The frock is a versatile term that can refer to a priest's cassock (frock coat), a child's dress, or a laborer's smock. In pastoral poetry, the frock is often the garment of shepherds and farmers, its rough linen or wool stained with earth and sweat, symbolizing honest toil. In Victorian verse, a girl's frock might be described in detail—its ribbons, its puffed sleeves, its white pinafore—evoking childhood innocence and the fleeting nature of youth. In clerical poetry, the frock is the everyday garment of the parson, humble and practical. Poets enjoy the word's simple, rounded sound, which fits well with rural and domestic imagery. The frock's lack of formality makes it a garment of authenticity, in contrast to more tailored, urban attire.
Example
Example in poetry:
"The shepherd's frock of undyed wool was rough against his skin"; "Her white frock fluttered like a flag of surrender in the summer wind"; "The parson's frock was as plain as his sermon"; "She put on her Sunday frock and became someone else entirely"; "The frock's faded flowers spoke of many washdays and one long summer"; "He wore a frock coat to the funeral, the last one he owned"
Additional Notes
The frock is a versatile term that can refer to a priest's cassock (frock coat), a child's dress, or a laborer's smock. In pastoral poetry, the frock is often the garment of shepherds and farmers, its rough linen or wool stained with earth and sweat, symbolizing honest toil. In Victorian verse, a girl's frock might be described in detail—its ribbons, its puffed sleeves, its white pinafore—evoking childhood innocence and the fleeting nature of youth. In clerical poetry, the frock is the everyday garment of the parson, humble and practical. Poets enjoy the word's simple, rounded sound, which fits well with rural and domestic imagery. The frock's lack of formality makes it a garment of authenticity, in contrast to more tailored, urban attire. Related terms include gown, dress, and smock. Students should note the frock's ability to signal both humble labor and innocent childhood, depending on context.
Also Known As
gown dress outer garment
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