Chapter 14 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06 is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06 is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WIT. Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word. WILL. 'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit. Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?
Chapter 14 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06 is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a man of refinement
From this reading “'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.”
an old form of “has”
From this reading “Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?”
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading “'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.”
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?”
the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading “Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.”
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading “'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.”
plural of “wag” — a witty amusing person who makes jokes
From this reading “Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.”
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading “WIT.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading 'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
a man of refinement
From this reading 'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.
an old form of “has”
From this reading Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading 'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading 'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading 'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.
the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading 'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?
plural of “wag” — a witty amusing person who makes jokes
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading WIT.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Now, Will, my thumb wags: it was but to his word.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading 'Tis a pleasant gentleman, this young Master Wit.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your master hath something too: I pray ye, what's it?
Chapter 14 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley holds 350 sentences, grouped into 70 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 14 holds 350 sentences of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 350 sentences, grouped into 70 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 70 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 14 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8555 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9848 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9848, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1711 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06 to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
