Home › Glossary › Letter W

Wandrers

Diction
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

An old or poetic form meaning "wanderer's" or "of a wanderer," signifying possession or belonging to one who roams; in poetry, it evokes journeying, exile, and the transient's perspective.

Detailed Definition
This is a contracted, archaic-looking genitive form used in the poem's title. It gives the piece a lyrical, old-world tone and signals the speaker as a traveler or wanderer.
Example
Example in poetry:
Goethe’s “Wandrers Nachtlied” is commonly translated as “Wanderer’s Night Song,” a title that frames solitude in nature; “Über allen Gipfeln / Ist Ruh” means “Over all the mountain peaks / is peace”; the German Wanderer is more than a tourist, suggesting a reflective traveler or seeker; a poem can invoke “wandrers” to place a speaker in the Romantic tradition of restless inward journeying
Additional Notes
The form "Wandrers" in the title is a poetic contraction that many modern readers may not immediately recognize as "wanderer's."; Found in the poem, Wanderer's Nightsong by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Also Known As
wanderers wayfarers rovers nomads
Skip to main content