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hayfield

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 hayfield is a field of grass or herbage grown specifically to be cut and dried as hay.

Detailed Definition
A hayfield changes visibly through the season, from lush grass to cut swathes, drying rows, and finally a cleared expanse. It is therefore a natural stage for poems about labour, weather, time, and transformation. Before mechanisation, haymaking brought groups of workers together in an urgent summer task, and this social history often colours literary depictions. A hayfield may convey fragrance, heat, abundance, and romance, but rain on cut grass can introduce anxiety, loss, and dependence upon forces beyond human control.
Example
Example in poetry:
Workers cutting a hayfield can illustrate communal labour under summer heat; The scent and colour of a hayfield can create rich sensory imagery; Rain clouds above a cut hayfield may introduce urgency and anxiety; An empty hayfield after gathering can symbolise completion, exhaustion, or the swift passage of summer.
Additional Notes
A hayfield is deliberately managed for grass or herbage that will be cut, dried, and stored as hay. Its appearance changes rapidly from tall flowering grass to cut swathes, windrows, and bare stubble-like ground. This transformation makes it useful for poems about time, labour, weather, and transience. Rain after mowing introduces urgency and possible loss. Related terms include meadow, mowing, hay, windrow, rick, haymaking, scythe, mower, and harvest.
Also Known As
hay meadow mowing field
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