Chapter XVI · Whaling in Lancaster Sound

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _July 22nd.

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

having the wind against the forward side of the sails

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

surrounded by; in the company of

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

at or in or to any place

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

plural of “battle” — a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

have

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

lacking or showing a lack of due concern

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

processing that involves blowing a gas

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

made or become different in nature or form

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

plural of “coast” — the shore of a sea or ocean

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

plural of “crew” — the men and women who man a vehicle (ship, aircraft, etc.)

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

From this reading In fact, it was a wild, winter's day.

all through a period, or at some point within it

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred

From this reading In fact, it was a wild, winter's day.

plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

plural of “flute” — a high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on Beaufort scale

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

toward home

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

plural of “host” — a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

water frozen in the solid state

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

devoid of warmth and cordiality; expressive of unfriendliness or disdain

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

moving to the inside of something

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

the month following June and preceding August

From this reading _July 22nd.

not compact or dense in structure or arrangement

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

most important element

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

engage in

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

the natural satellite of the Earth

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

the time period between dawn and noon

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

not any; not one

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

To move from a closed position.

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

plural of “sail” — a large piece of fabric (usually canvas fabric) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

in or at that place or location

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

the third day of the week; the second working day

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale.

binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.

-ing form of “whale” — hunt for whales

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

a Caucasian

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

belonging to which person

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

marked by extreme lack of restraint or control

From this reading In fact, it was a wild, winter's day.

possessive form of “winter” — the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox

From this reading In fact, it was a wild, winter's day.

in the company of; together with

From this reading "White, quiet sails from the grim icy coasts, That bear the battles of the whaling hosts, Whose homeward crews, with feet and flutes in tune, And spirits roughly blithe, make music to the moon."

a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride

From this reading We were amongst loose ice, with our main yard aback and there was no open water to be seen anywhere.