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Palm

Anatomy
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 inner surface of the hand, often associated with touch, offering, fate, and human connection.

Detailed Definition
The palm has a distinctive place in poetry because it is both a surface of contact and a traditional site of fortune telling. An open palm may offer food, comfort, money, or peace; an empty palm may reveal loss or need. Poets often notice its warmth, creases, sweat, and calluses to portray labor or intimacy. Since palms can hold small objects briefly, they also become images of temporary possession, fragile memory, and the desire to preserve what cannot remain.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Rain gathered in the palm of his hand” uses the palm as a small vessel for an ordinary moment; A poet might write “she read the future in her grandmother’s palm” to connect touch with inheritance; “The seed slept in my palm” makes the hand symbolize care and potential; “He opened his palm and released the moth” uses the palm to dramatize gentleness and letting go
Additional Notes
The palm is a tactile, open image: it can receive, offer, hold, or reveal. Palm lines also invoke fortune telling, making the hand a useful symbol of choice, fate, and connection.
Other Meanings of “Palm”
Also Known As
Hand Palm
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