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portion

Noun
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 share or part of something. In older or literary use, it can mean the part allotted to a person.

Detailed Definition
Here, portion means the part of life or feeling that belongs to us. Dowson uses it in a slightly elevated, literary way to suggest that these emotions may not belong to human life after death.
Example
Example in poetry:
“I think they have no portion in us after” uses portion for a share or allotted part; Biblical language often speaks of one’s “portion” as inheritance or fate; “Each child received a portion of the bread,” gives the concrete sense; “What portion of daylight belongs to grief?” turns division into meditation
Additional Notes
In the line quoted, portion is used in a literary sense that may be less immediate than the everyday word 'part'.; Found in the poem, Vitae Summa Brevis by Ernest Dowson
Also Known As
segment share division
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