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mews

Birds
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

Gulls, particularly common gulls, or their sharp cries; used in maritime and coastal poetry to evoke wild shorelines.

Detailed Definition
The “mews” are seabirds calling below the riders on Beeny Cliff. The word can also suggest the characteristic mewing sound of gulls, creating a link between bird and cry.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The pale mews plained below us” uses mews as a poetic name for gulls; In coastal poetry, mews wheel, cry, and follow ships above rough water; “Mews rode the wind above the harbor” supplies a maritime bird image; The word’s literary sound differs from “mews” meaning stables or a narrow city street
Additional Notes
“Mews” is an uncommon poetic term for gulls or their cries, rather than the familiar modern noun meaning stables.; Found in the poem, Beeny Cliff by Thomas Hardy
Also Known As
stable courtyard mewsway
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