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Voussoir

Architecture
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 wedge-shaped stone forming part of an arch. It can symbolize interdependence, pressure, and the making of strength from separate pieces.

Detailed Definition
A voussoir is one of the wedge-shaped stones arranged around an arch, each pressing against its neighbors to create a stable curve. In poetry, it can stand for the individual word, person, or memory whose force depends on relation rather than isolation. The image is especially useful for poems about communities, families, and collaborative art: no stone alone spans the opening, yet each contributes to the whole. Its shape also suggests how pressure, properly distributed, can become a source of enduring form.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Each voussoir in the arch carried its share of weight” can become a metaphor for communal responsibility; A poet might write, “The mason set the final voussoir, and the doorway learned to stand,” showing how a wedge-shaped stone completes an arch; “We were voussoirs around her silence, leaning inward” uses the arch stones to portray a family supporting grief; In a ruin poem, “One fallen voussoir opened the arch to the sky” shows how the loss of a single structural element can transform a scene
Additional Notes
A voussoir is one of the wedge-shaped stones arranged to make an arch; each stone relies on the pressure and placement of the others. This makes it a strong metaphor for community, mutual support, and strength created through relation rather than isolation. Related arch terms include the keystone, the central locking stone, and the springing, where the arch begins.
Also Known As
Wedge Stone Arch Stone
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