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quadrille

Games
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

Quadrille is a four-player card game popular in the eighteenth century, involving partnerships and complex bidding.

Detailed Definition
Quadrille appears in poetry as a refined social dance of cards, symbolizing the coordinated movements of partners. In period literature it evokes the elegance and intrigue of the salon. Poets use its figures and deals to explore themes of alliance, the changing of partners, and the intricate patterns of social and romantic play.
Example
Example in poetry:
Quadrille’s four-handed figures and changing partners supply poets with images of social and formal exchange; Eighteenth-century verse places the game among the dances of the card table; “They played the quadrille of the evening until every alliance had been tried” illustrates shifting cooperation; Educational examples present the sport as a complex and elegant diversion; Poets use quadrille when the contest must observe the manners of the drawing room.
Additional Notes
Quadrille’s four-handed figures and changing partnerships made it a fashionable emblem of social and formal exchange in the eighteenth century. The game’s dance-like structure rewards poets who need images of shifting alliance and patterned movement. Instructors may place quadrille among the ancestors of later partnership games. Related forms include the various national variants. The image works well when the contest must observe the manners of the drawing room.
Other Meanings of “quadrille”
Also Known As
Quadrille Dance Fourfold Fourfold Game
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