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Lapis Lazuli

Gemstones
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 deep blue metamorphic rock with golden pyrite, symbolizing wisdom and celestial truth.

Detailed Definition
Lapis lazuli’s ultramarine depth made it sacred to ancients; in poetry, it evokes divine knowledge, the night sky, or the poet’s quest for meaning. Yeats famously used it to contrast human fragility with eternal art. Its gold-flecked surface suggests stars in darkness—making it ideal for verses about revelation, ambition, or the sublime.
Example
Example in poetry:
Yeats’s “Lapis Lazuli” contrasts human fragility with art’s permanence; medieval poets link it to Virgin Mary’s robes; modern verse uses it to symbolize divine wisdom; its gold-flecked surface appears in poems about stars in darkness; as ultramarine source, it represents the cost of beauty; its depth makes it ideal for verses on the sublime.
Additional Notes
Lapis Lazuli is a deep blue metamorphic rock with golden pyrite flecks, prized since antiquity; ground into ultramarine pigment, it adorned Renaissance Madonnas—symbolizing wisdom, truth, and the celestial, it’s a bridge between earthly material and divine inspiration in poetic tradition.
Also Known As
Lapis
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