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stately

Adjective
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

An archaic second-person past tense form meaning "you had" ("thou hadst"); used in historical, classical, or devotional verse.

Detailed Definition
In poetry, stately often suggests a slow, majestic, formal quality. Tennyson uses it for the ships, making them seem noble and ceremonious as they move toward harbor.
Example
Example in poetry:
“And the stately ships go on” — Alfred Lord Tennyson, “Crossing the Bar”; “Stately Homie” — Gwendolyn Brooks, using grandeur ironically in title; The stately heron steps through the reeds with measured grace; Long, balanced lines can create a stately pace
Additional Notes
“stately” is a literary adjective that may be less immediate than everyday vocabulary, especially in the poem’s formal description of the ships.; Found in the poem, Break, Break, Break by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Other Meanings of “stately”
Also Known As
majestic dignified grand noble
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