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shuttle

Craft Terms
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

Shuttle is the tool in weaving that carries the weft thread back and forth through the warp; in poetry, it often suggests swift movement, connection, or the passing of time.

Detailed Definition
Literally, a shuttle is the device that moves the weft across the warp on a loom, making the weaving process possible. In poetry, it is frequently borrowed as a metaphor for motion between two points, the linking of separate elements, or the quick passage of time. Because it is both a practical object and a strong image of movement, it can also suggest the act of carrying thought or feeling through a poem’s structure.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Cale Young Rice’s Sea-Hoardings, the line “A shuttle with silver breast across the warp of the waves gliding” uses the word to make the swallow’s motion feel like weaving, turning the sea into a made fabric.
Additional Notes
The word comes from textile craft vocabulary and is closely tied to warp, weft, and loom. A famous literary use appears in Job’s phrase “my days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,” where the image expresses the speed and fragility of life.
Other Meanings of “shuttle”
Also Known As
weaving shuttle boat shuttle stick shuttle birdie cock shuttlecock
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