used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
adornedadjectiveUS /əˈdɔːrnd/
provided with something intended to increase its beauty or distinction
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
applesnounUS /ˈæpəlz/
plural of “apple” — fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They are dressed up in the most splendid manner.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "And then," asked the fir-tree, trembling through all its branches, "and then what happens?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
plural of “branch” — a division of some larger or more complex organization
From this reading "And then," asked the fir-tree, trembling through all its branches, "and then what happens?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
cakesnounUS /keɪks/
plural of “cake” — a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading They are dressed up in the most splendid manner.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
fir-tree
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And then," asked the fir-tree, trembling through all its branches, "and then what happens?"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
gildedadjectiveUS /ˈɡɪldɪd/
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
third-person singular of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading "And then," asked the fir-tree, trembling through all its branches, "and then what happens?"
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
honeynounUS /ˈhʌni/
a sweet yellow liquid produced by bees
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
plural of “hundred” — ten 10s
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading "And then," asked the fir-tree, trembling through all its branches, "and then what happens?"
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading They are dressed up in the most splendid manner.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
used to form the superlative
From this reading They are dressed up in the most splendid manner.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
playthingsnounUS /ˈpleɪθɪŋz/
plural of “plaything” — an artifact designed to be played with
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
sparrowsnounUS /ˈsperoʊz/
plural of “sparrow” — any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading They are dressed up in the most splendid manner.
having a supporting base
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
tapersnounUS /ˈteɪpərz/
plural of “taper” — a convex shape that narrows toward a point
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "And then," asked the fir-tree, trembling through all its branches, "and then what happens?"
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They are dressed up in the most splendid manner.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading "And then," asked the fir-tree, trembling through all its branches, "and then what happens?"
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
a shaky motion
From this reading "And then," asked the fir-tree, trembling through all its branches, "and then what happens?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading They are dressed up in the most splendid manner.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "We did not see any more," said the sparrows; "but this was enough for us."
waxverbUS /wæks/
cover with wax
From this reading We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,--honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "We know, we know," sang the sparrows; "we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them.