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strait

Archaic 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

Narrow or constricted; also, a narrow sea passage—employed geographically or metaphorically to suggest limitation or tension.

Detailed Definition
As adjective, “strait” conveys restriction—strait gate, straitened means; as noun, maritime passage. In poetry, both appear: strait is the way, sailing the straits. The duality enriches metaphor—moral narrowness versus physical. Poets use it to explore how constraints shape virtue or journey, reinforcing themes of discipline, passage, and the tension between freedom and order.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The path was strait and narrow,” echoing biblical diction in devotional verse; In Milton: “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way”; “His conscience held him to a strait course”; “The strait between the cliffs threatened shipwreck”; “Straitened by poverty, yet rich in spirit”; The strait of doubt leads to clarity.
Additional Notes
“Strait” as narrow (not “straight”) appears in phrases like “strait gate” (Matthew 7:14) or “dire straits”; in allegorical poetry, it symbolizes moral difficulty or constrained choice, contrasting with broad, easy paths of vice.
Also Known As
narrow tight constrained sound
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