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skiffs

Nautical
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

Small, light open boats, often used for short journeys or recreation; in poetry, skiffs evoke intimacy, vulnerability on water, and the quiet simplicity of coastal or riverine life.

Detailed Definition
A skiff is a small, narrow boat, often used on rivers or lakes. The poem compares the body’s movement to these boats, and the word may be unfamiliar to readers who do not know boating vocabulary.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Like those trim skiffs, unknown of yore” uses skiffs for small, light boats; Tennyson’s Arthurian waters often feature boats bearing figures into legend; “Two skiffs rocked beside the reed-choked inlet” gives a clear nautical image; Contemporary-style example: “Their skiff crossed the flooded street where buses once ran”
Additional Notes
The line “Like those trim skiffs” uses a boating term that is not part of everyday vocabulary for many readers.; Found in the poem, Youth and Age by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Also Known As
small boats canoes skiffs and dinghies light vessels
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