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urn

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

A large, often covered container for holding hot water or tea; in poetry, an urn can serve as a domestic, functional object, but also evokes themes of holding, preserving, or serving, especially in quiet, interior settings.

Detailed Definition
An urn is a vessel used for serving or keeping liquids hot, especially in older household settings. In this poem it belongs to the breakfast table and helps create a domestic, old-fashioned scene.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Of urn, or kettle on the fire” (Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”); “Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness” addresses the carved urn; Ashes rested in a plain clay urn; The urn preserves both a body and a memory; As a poetic symbol, an urn may hold mortality, art, domestic life, or elegy
Additional Notes
The word in the evidence is a somewhat specialized household term, and readers may not immediately picture the object.; Found in the poem, Breakfast by Mary Lamb
Also Known As
receptacle vessel container cinerary casket
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