Home › Glossary › Letter M

missen-thrush

Archaic Terms
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

An affectionate term for a thrush, a type of songbird; this archaic, endearing name for a thrush appears in poetry to evoke a sense of fondness, rural life, and the simple beauty of avian music, adding warmth.

Detailed Definition
The term 'missen-thrush' is an archaic or dialectal form that combines 'miss' with 'thrush,' suggesting a tender or endearing reference to the bird. In the context of the poem, it evokes a sense of intimacy with nature and the speaker's emotional state, as they listen to the sounds of the thrush amidst their reflections.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Hush, missen-thrush, I listen I heard the flush of footsteps through the loose leaves..." (dialect for 'mistle thrush'? Or a bird name); "The missen-thrush sang in the copse" (nature); "A missen-thrush's morning call" (sound); "The missen-thrush on the elder tree" (pastoral); "He watched the missen-thrush fly" (observation)
Additional Notes
The term 'missen-thrush' appears in the line, indicating a personal connection to the bird.; Found in the poem, Elegy in April and September by Wilfred Owen
Also Known As
mistle-thrush woodland singer speckled bard mistle-bird
Skip to main content