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parapet

Military
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

A low protective wall or barrier, especially on a trench or fortification.

Detailed Definition
A parapet is a defensive wall that shields soldiers from enemy fire. In war poetry, it often evokes trench warfare and the physical danger of exposure, as in the speaker pulling a poppy from the trench parapet.
Example
Example in poetry:
“As I pull the parapet’s poppy” places a flower against a defensive wall; A parapet is a low protective wall on a fortification, bridge, or roof; “Behind the parapet, soldiers watched dawn enter the smoke” gives military context; “She leaned on the hospital parapet above the traffic” shows its broader architectural use.
Additional Notes
“Parapet” in “the parapet’s poppy” is a military fortification term that many readers may need to look up.; Found in the poem, Break of Day in the Trenches by Isaac Rosenberg
Other Meanings of “parapet”
Also Known As
battlement parapet wall defensive edge rampart
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