Home › Glossary › Letter I

Ivy

Flora
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

An evergreen climbing vine with dark green lobed leaves, often clinging to walls or trees.

Detailed Definition
Ivy symbolizes fidelity, eternal life, and tenacious attachment in poetry. Associated with Dionysus in classical myth, it also connotes revelry and intoxication. Its clinging nature makes it a metaphor for enduring love or inescapable memory, frequently appearing in sonnets and odes as a sign of loyalty that outlasts time.
Example
Example in poetry:
Ivy appears in classical poetry as Dionysian symbol: “Ivy wreathes the thyrsus, wild and green”; In Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” it’s fidelity: “And ivy, that clings so fast”; Modern eco-poems note its evergreen cover: “Ivy blankets the old wall, green memory”; In love poetry, it’s clinging devotion: “Our love—ivy, not oak: flexible, enduring”; In cautionary verse, it’s invasive: “Ivy strangles the tree it loves”; In spiritual poetry, it’s resurrection: “Ivy stays green through death’s winter.”
Additional Notes
Ivy (Hedera helix) symbolizes fidelity, eternal life, and clinging attachment; in classical times, it was sacred to Dionysus—suggesting revelry or intoxication; in poetry, it often covers ruins, evoking memory or decay; its evergreen nature contrasts with seasonal change—useful for permanence motifs.
Other Meanings of “Ivy”
Also Known As
English Ivy Common Ivy
Skip to main content