Home › Glossary › Letter L

Lai

Form
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

A medieval French fixed-form poem of rhyming couplets and syllabic patterns

Detailed Definition
A lai is a medieval French narrative poem, typically short and lyrical, often dealing with chivalric love, supernatural encounters, or Breton folklore; characterized by irregular stanza lengths and refrains, it blends storytelling with musicality and was popularized by Marie de France.
Example
Example in poetry:
A short, narrative poem, often of French or Breton origin, usually in octosyllabic couplets, typically dealing with chivalric or romantic themes; Marie de France's Lai de Lanval
Additional Notes
Lai: A medieval narrative and lyric poem (especially French and English) that is typically shorter than an epic and focuses on tales of adventure, romance, or fairy lore; known for complex, non-stanzaic, line-pattern structures.
Also Known As
lai form medieval lai Old French lay Breton Lai Lay stanza
Skip to main content