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lee

Nautical
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

The side of a ship or landform sheltered from the wind; in nautical and reflective poetry, symbolizes refuge, peace, or safety.

Detailed Definition
In nautical language, lee is the side of a ship or object that is protected from the wind. Sailors use it to describe direction and shelter at sea.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Away the good ship flies, and leaves / Old England on the lee” places land on the sheltered side of the vessel; In nautical usage, lee is the side away from the wind, opposed to windward; Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” repeatedly makes wind and sea direction central to peril; “The island slipped to lee behind us” uses the term precisely in a seafaring lyric
Additional Notes
The phrase “on the lee” uses a specialized sailing term that ordinary readers may need to look up.; Found in the poem, A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea by Allan Cunningham
Also Known As
shelter protection refuge haven
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