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thunders

Noun
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

Poetically, the sound of a ship's guns or cannon fire, used to evoke naval battle, power, or the thunderous voice of maritime conflict; it adds a dramatic auditory element to seafaring verse.

Detailed Definition
In this poem, thunders refers not to weather but to the booming sound of the ship’s cannon. Holmes uses the word metaphorically to make the warship seem powerful and storm-like.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Her thunders shook the mighty deep” — Thomas Gray, “The Bard”; “The thunders of the upper deep” — John Milton, “Lycidas”; Summer thunders roll beyond the hills; In poetry, thunders may be literal storm sounds or figurative voices of power
Additional Notes
The quoted line uses "thunders" in a specialized poetic sense for cannon fire, which is not the ordinary everyday meaning.; Found in the poem, Old Ironsides by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Other Meanings of “thunders”
Also Known As
roars rumbles claps crashes
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