used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
anew
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Nettie Day knelt by her window.
chillyadjectiveUS /ˈtʃɪli/
not characterized by emotion
From this reading Though the days were sunny the nights were very quiet and somewhat chilly.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Nettie Day knelt by her window.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
fadedadjectiveUS /ˈfeɪdəd/
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
a young female
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
in a gradual manner
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
homesicknessnounUS /ˈhoʊmsɪknəs/
a longing to return home
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
kneltverbUS /nelt/
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading Nettie Day knelt by her window.
largeadjectiveUS /lɑːrdʒ/
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
prolonged unfulfilled desire or need
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
Nettie
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nettie Day knelt by her window.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
Periods of darkness between sunset and sunrise.
From this reading Though the days were sunny the nights were very quiet and somewhat chilly.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
o'clockadverbUS /əˈklɑːk/
according to the clock
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
on one occasion
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
overwhelmedverbUS /ˌoʊvərˈwelmd/
past form of “overwhelm” — overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
quietadjectiveUS /ˈkwaɪət/
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading Though the days were sunny the nights were very quiet and somewhat chilly.
ranchnounUS /ræntʃ/
farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle)
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
shorteningnounUS /ˈʃɔːrtənɪŋ/
fat such as butter or lard used in baked goods
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
without speaking
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
plural of “sister” — a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading Though the days were sunny the nights were very quiet and somewhat chilly.
sunnyadjectiveUS /ˈsʌni/
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading Though the days were sunny the nights were very quiet and somewhat chilly.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Never had the ranch house seemed so large or so empty.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Though the days were sunny the nights were very quiet and somewhat chilly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
precisely as stated
From this reading Though the days were sunny the nights were very quiet and somewhat chilly.
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
at the time that
From this reading The days were gradually shortening and when the light faded about ten o'clock darkness closed silently in upon the hill country.
widelyadverbUS /ˈwaɪdli/
to a great degree
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Nettie Day knelt by her window.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the lonely girl, a terrible longing to see her little brothers and sisters, now so widely scattered about the country, and be with them once again.
