Home › Glossary › Letter S

stern

Nautical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

The rear part of a ship; in poetry, a symbol of journey, direction, and nautical order.

Detailed Definition
The stern in poetry often signifies retrospection, legacy, and the trailing wake of one's actions. It is the part that follows, suggesting what has been left behind—past voyages, lost loves, or departed homelands. While the bow faces forward toward uncertainty, the stern faces the past, making it a powerful emblem for memory, regret, and the visible track of one's journey. In elegiac verse, poets look aft to measure distance traveled, and the stern's carved or decorated structure often becomes a motif for the ornate burdens of history and personal narrative.
Example
Example in poetry:
The stern in poetry often signifies retrospection, legacy, and the trailing wake of one’s actions.; It is the part that follows, suggesting what has been left behind—past voyages, lost loves, or departed homelands.; While the bow faces forward toward uncertainty, the stern faces the past, making it a powerful emblem for memory.; In elegiac verse, poets look aft to measure distance traveled.; The stern’s carved or decorated structure becomes a motif for the ornate burdens of history.; The stern is the rear or aftermost part of a ship, opposite the bow.
Additional Notes
The stern is the rear of the ship, the part that follows, suggesting what has been left behind—past voyages, lost loves, and departed homelands. In poetry, it often signifies retrospection, legacy, and the trailing wake of one's actions. While the bow faces forward toward uncertainty, the stern faces the past, making it a powerful emblem for memory and regret. In elegiac verse, poets look aft to measure the distance traveled. The stern's carved and decorated structure becomes a motif for the ornate burdens of history and the beauty of accumulated experience.
Also Known As
After part tail rear poop (related) Dour Grim sterne
Skip to main content