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rations

Farming
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

rations: Officially portioned supplies of food, especially for soldiers, prisoners, or in times of scarcity, symbolizing regulation, survival, and the basic necessities of life.

Detailed Definition
Rations are fixed portions of food issued regularly, often in military settings. In this poem, the word points to the speaker’s army life and the practical demands of feeding soldiers.
Example
Example in poetry:
“We’ll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational” echoes speech shaped by scarcity and hunger; “The sailors counted rations of biscuit, salt meat, and tea” gives a historical example; “In the refugee camp, rations arrived at dusk” places the noun in humanitarian context; “She saved her rations of courage for the hardest mile” turns allotted supplies into metaphor
Additional Notes
The word is common in military contexts but less familiar in everyday reading, and the poem uses it in that specialized sense.; Found in the poem, Tommy by Rudyard Kipling
Also Known As
provisions supplies sustenance
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