Home › Glossary › Letter H

habeas corpus

Latin Phrases
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

Meaning “you shall have the body,” it denotes a legal right protecting against unlawful detention. It symbolises liberty.

Detailed Definition
Habeas corpus carries strong associations with justice and civil rights. In poetry it may represent resistance to tyranny or the safeguarding of individual dignity. The phrase’s juridical gravity anchors abstract ideals of freedom in concrete legal tradition.
Example
Example in poetry:
A political poem could celebrate habeas corpus as shield of liberty; A protest verse might lament habeas corpus suspended in crisis; A historical ballad may reference habeas corpus in defence of justice; A reflective poem could use habeas corpus metaphorically for emotional freedom.
Additional Notes
Habeas corpus embodies legal protection of individual liberty and is central to political poetry concerned with justice. Its use introduces themes of bodily presence and lawful authority. Students should consider its metaphorical extension to emotional or spiritual freedom. The phrase anchors abstract liberty in concrete legal tradition.
Other Meanings of “habeas corpus”
Also Known As
Writ of habeas corpus Great writ
Skip to main content