Home › Glossary › Letter S

stripling

Noun
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

A young, usually inexperienced or slight person, especially a young man.

Detailed Definition
The poem calls the unknown rider “a stripling” to emphasize his youth and unimpressive appearance. The word is a somewhat old-fashioned literary noun, often used for a young man who has not yet proved himself.
Example
Example in poetry:
“And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast” uses stripling for a slight, youthful man; Shakespeare’s “a stripling, by thy side” similarly stresses untested youth; In a ballad, “The stripling raised his borrowed sword” can contrast boyish appearance with courage; Contemporary usage: “A stripling skater claimed the midnight rink.”
Additional Notes
“Stripling” is an uncommon literary term for a young man, used here for the slight rider.; Found in the poem, The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Paterson
Also Known As
youth adolescent young man
Skip to main content