Chapter 5 of Dissertations on the English Language, with Notes, Historical and Critical is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Dissertations on the English Language, with Notes, Historical and Critical is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_." Cant. Tales, 6691. --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_." La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.
Chapter 5 of Dissertations on the English Language, with Notes, Historical and Critical is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a young woman who is the most charming and beautiful of several rivals
From this reading “La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.”
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “--"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."”
stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
From this reading “Cant.”
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading “La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.”
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “"But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."”
respectful deference
From this reading “--"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."”
leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
From this reading “La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.”
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “Tales, 6691.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tales, 6691.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
a young woman who is the most charming and beautiful of several rivals
From this reading La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
From this reading Cant.
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
respectful deference
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
From this reading La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading La Belle Dame sans mercy, 323.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Tales, 6691.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading --"And he that ones to love doeth his homage Full oftentymes dere bought _is the richesse_."
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading "But for ye speken of swiche gentillesse, As is descended out of old _richesse_."
Chapter 5 of Dissertations on the English Language, with Notes, Historical and Critical by Noah Webster holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 5 holds 399 sentences of Dissertations on the English Language, with Notes, Historical and Critical, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Dissertations on the English Language, with Notes, Historical and Critical by Noah Webster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 5 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
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About 368 minutes of reading across 886 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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