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Deadham Hard: A Romance
Deadham Hard: A Romance

Chapter VII

Cover illustration for Deadham Hard: A Romance
Context Illustration Reading 1/41 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.
The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.
The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.
Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.
Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Deadham Hard: A Romance

Chapter VII

Reading 1/41 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.
Line 2
The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.
Line 3
The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.
Line 4
Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.
Line 5
Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.”

Above preposition US /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading “Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.”

Across preposition US /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading “Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.”

Afternoon noun US /ˈafternoon/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.”

Against preposition US /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading “Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.”

Along preposition US /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading “Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.”

Being auxiliary verb US /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading “The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.”

Fine noun US /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.”

MAIDEN noun, literary US /ˈmeɪdən/

a young woman who is not married

From this reading “IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.”

All words in this reading · 75

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.

AboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

acrossprepositionUS /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

afternoonnounUS /ˈafternoon/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

air

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

alongprepositionUS /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.

angular

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

aromatic

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

attitudes

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

Bar

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

black

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

cloudless

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

From this reading The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.

cormorants

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

distance

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

drying

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

extravagant

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

finenounUS /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.

five

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

From this reading IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.

garden

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

glossy

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

gorse

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

Haven

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

heavy

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

hot

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

From this reading The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.

INprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.

just

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

lasted

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

From this reading The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.

lay

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

low

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

MAIDENnoun, literaryUS /ˈmeɪdən/

a young woman who is not married

From this reading IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.

MEDITATION

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

From this reading IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.

middle

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

mud-flats

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

o'clock

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

From this reading IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

off

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

opposite

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

patched

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

pine-scrub

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

postured

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

purple

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

reek

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

rim

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

river

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

sandy

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

scents

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

sea

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

September

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

From this reading The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.

silver-blue

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

skirts

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

sky

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

smoke

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

southern

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

stains

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

steamer

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.

sun-baked

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

sweetness

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

three

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

tide

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

UponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

warren

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

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading IN MAIDEN MEDITATION It was afternoon, about five o'clock.

weather

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

From this reading The fine September weather, hot and cloudless, lasted still.

webs

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

From this reading Above the rim of the silver-blue sea--patched with purple stains in the middle distance--webs of steamer smoke lay along the southern sky.

wings

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The air was heavy with garden scents, the aromatic sweetness of sun-baked gorse and pine-scrub on the warren, and with the reek off the mud-flats of the Haven, the tide being low.

yellow

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

From this reading Upon the sandy skirts of the Bar, across the river just opposite, three cormorants--glossy black against the yellow--postured in extravagant angular attitudes drying their wings.