Chapter VII · The Signal

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

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

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

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading At least it was a secret from Jim.

any of numerous ornamental shrubs grown for their showy flowers of various colors

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

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

From this reading Yet she had to be out in the night because—well, that’s a secret.

for the reason that

From this reading Yet she had to be out in the night because—well, that’s a secret.

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

decreasing in amount or degree

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

plural of “fold” — an angular or rounded shape made by folding

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading At least it was a secret from Jim.

having the deep slightly brownish color of gold

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Yet she had to be out in the night because—well, that’s a secret.

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Because he would have laughed.

through a haze

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Because he would have laughed.

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

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

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

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

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

From this reading At least it was a secret from Jim.

past form of “laugh” — produce laughter

From this reading Because he would have laughed.

the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree

From this reading At least it was a secret from Jim.

of comparatively little physical weight or density

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

lacking companions or companionship

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

and nothing more

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

filled or abounding with fog or mist

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

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

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

not allowed to continue to bat or run

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

above and across; more than

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

plural of “pine” — a coniferous tree

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.

From this reading Yet she had to be out in the night because—well, that’s a secret.

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Yet she had to be out in the night because—well, that’s a secret.

inflected form of “shine” — be bright by reflecting or casting light

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

yielding readily to pressure or weight

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

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

From this reading Yet she had to be out in the night because—well, that’s a secret.

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

From this reading Night came down sweetly over the mountain that quiet day.

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

From this reading Yet she had to be out in the night because—well, that’s a secret.

a community of people smaller than a town

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

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

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

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 It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

From this reading Yet she had to be out in the night because—well, that’s a secret.

spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

in the company of; together with

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading Because he would have laughed.

covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak

From this reading It wrapped the village in soft gray folds; the stars came out hazily and shone with a misty golden light; the wind merely whispered in the pines and the hemlocks, and the sound of the falling water was lonely and sad in the ears of Azalea.

but in spite of that

From this reading Yet she had to be out in the night because—well, that’s a secret.