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khaki

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 dull brownish-yellow or olive-green cloth, often used for military uniforms; in poetry, it evokes camouflage, the drabness of war, and the functional, anonymous clothing of soldiers.

Detailed Definition
Khaki originally referred to a dust-colored fabric and then to the military clothing made from it. In war poetry, it often stands for the army or soldiering itself, as in the speaker’s call to join the ranks.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Who’s for the khaki suit—Are you, my laddie” links khaki with military uniform and recruitment; “Khaki dust settled on the soldier’s boots” joins color, landscape, and war; “She rejected the khaki rhetoric of marching men” uses the garment as political symbol; Though khaki can simply mean a yellow-brown fabric or color, wartime poems often load it with imperial and military associations
Additional Notes
The word in the evidence is a specialized military clothing term, not ordinary everyday vocabulary for many readers.; Found in the poem, The Call by Jessie Pope
Also Known As
olive drab military green earth tone muted hue
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