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politic

Diction
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

Clever, shrewd, or crafty. It does not mean related to government here.

Detailed Definition
Politic is an older literary adjective meaning shrewd, prudent, or crafty. Emerson uses it for a thief who might try to outwit the Past, but the poem insists that no such cleverness can succeed. Modern readers may first think of politics, so the older sense can be confusing.
Example
Example in poetry:
“No thief so politic” uses politic to mean shrewd, calculating, or expedient; Shakespeare often gives politic a wary, strategic sense; “The politic crow waited until all eyes turned,” shows clever self-interest; Modern readers should distinguish politic from political, which concerns public government
Additional Notes
In "No thief so politic," the word has an older meaning of shrewd or crafty, not the modern political sense, so it may need lookup.; Found in the poem, The Past by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Also Known As
diplomatic shrewd astute prudent
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