1
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
customaryadjectiveUS /ˈkʌstəmeri/
in accordance with convention or custom
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
every day; without missing a day
From this reading What was now the secret of his daily life?
Endnote
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
brought about or set up or accepted; especially long established
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
the aggregate of past events
From this reading What had been this man’s history?
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
impressibility
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
influencesnounUS /ˈɪnfluːənsɪz/
plural of “influence” — a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading What was now the secret of his daily life?
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
man'snounUS /mænz/
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading What had been this man’s history?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
easily agitated
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
preciseadjectiveUS /prɪˈsaɪs/
sharply exact or accurate or delimited
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
quietadjectiveUS /ˈkwaɪət/
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
Redclyffe
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading What was now the secret of his daily life?
singularlyadverbUS /ˈsɪŋɡjələrli/
in a singular manner or to a singular degree
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
stewardnounUS /ˈstuːərd/
someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
subduedadjectiveUS /səbˈduːd/
in a softened tone
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
subtile
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
carry out
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading What had been this man’s history?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
tokensnounUS /ˈtoʊkənz/
plural of “token” — an individual instance of a type of symbol
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
(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 With his customary impressibility by the influences around him, he begun to take in the circumstances, and to understand them by more subtile tokens than he could well explain to himself.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What had been this man’s history?
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading There was the steward, [Endnote: 1] or whatever was his precise office; so quiet, so subdued, so nervous, so strange!
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Redclyffe was now established in the great house which had been so long and so singularly an object of interest with him.
