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harrow

Farming
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 harrow is a farm implement used to break up clods, level ploughed soil, and cover seed.

Detailed Definition
A harrow is drawn across ground after ploughing, its teeth or discs refining the rough surface into a seedbed. The action is less dramatic than ploughing but equally important in preparing the soil. In poetry, harrowing can represent painful disturbance followed by order and readiness for growth. The word's association with distress gives poets a natural double meaning, connecting agricultural labour with emotional suffering. Its combing lines may also suggest discipline, correction, and the repeated shaping of resistant material.
Example
Example in poetry:
A harrow crossing ploughed soil can symbolise the painful preparation required before growth; Its teeth breaking clods may resemble suffering that produces later fruitfulness; The regular marks of a harrow can create visual imagery of order and repetition; An abandoned harrow can suggest the disappearance of hand farming or the failure of a planting season.
Additional Notes
A harrow is used after ploughing to break clods, level the surface, remove weeds, or cover seed. Its teeth or discs disturb the earth less deeply than a plough but leave a distinctive combed pattern. In poetry, harrowing may connect painful disturbance with preparation for growth, strengthened by the ordinary meaning of emotionally distressing. Related terms include plough, cultivator, seedbed, tillage, soil, clod, tractor, sowing, and agricultural implement.
Other Meanings of “harrow”
Also Known As
drag soil drag
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