Home › Glossary › Letter P

Palsied

Disease
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

Shaken or weakened by paralysis, tremor, or infirmity; in poetry, this term evokes physical frailty and decay, often used to describe the aged or ill, symbolizing the vulnerability and decline of the body.

Detailed Definition
Palsied traditionally describes someone afflicted with palsy, a term once used for paralysis, trembling, or impaired movement. In poetry, it can lend an archaic, biblical, or elegiac tone to a hand, voice, limb, or age. A palsied branch may tremble in wind like an unsteady body, while a palsied state may suggest weakened power. Because the term carries historical medical language, it works best when its period resonance is intentional.
Example
Example in poetry:
“His palsied hand could scarcely lift the candle,” using palsied to suggest trembling paralysis; The poet calls the winter oak “palsied,” giving the bare branches the appearance of shaking limbs; “A palsied moon quivered in the black pond,” personifying the moon with frailty; In a war elegy, “palsied veterans” emphasizes the lasting bodily damage of battle
Additional Notes
Often an archaic poetic word for trembling weakness or paralysis; it can describe a body, hand, voice, or even a faltering kingdom. Related to palsy.
Other Meanings of “Palsied”
Also Known As
Paralyzed Paralysed Palsy-Stricken
Skip to main content